


Same Time Next Year?

by Melui



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Enigmatic!Lena, F/F, Fluff, Mild Angst, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, SuperCorp, Supercorp endgame, karlena, mysterious donuts, oblivious!Kara, soft!SuperCorp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-10-10 02:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 73,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20520677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melui/pseuds/Melui
Summary: At a New Year's Eve masked gala, Kara meets a mysterious brunette at midnight. They click in all the right ways, but fate intervenes to keep them apart. They promise to meet each other again, same time, next year.In January, Kara is assigned to interview the aloof and seemingly intimidating Lena Luthor. Kara finds Lena as intriguing as her New Year's Eve companion, and they soon grow close. But as the end of the year approaches, the promise she made comes back to her. Who was the mysterious brunette, and where do those amazing donuts come from?





	1. December 31st

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back with a new story and a strong desire for donuts :) this story will be spread over a year, jumping from month to month, so there will a few little time skips. Nothing too strenuous!
> 
> M-rated for eventual... :)
> 
> Thank you for clicking on this, and I hope you enjoy it! <3
> 
> My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/melui-the-ravenclaw) and a new [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Melui_Ravenclaw) I made if you'd like to say hi! <3

“Kara, _stop_ fiddling with your mask! You’re going to get glitter in your eyes,” Alex whispered furiously out of the side of her mouth, as she handed their invitations to the security at the door, before they were ushered into the building.

Quickly pulling her hand away from her face like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, Kara huffed out a frustrated breath. “I can’t help it! Who decided that all the masks needed to be painted on anyway? Why couldn’t we have actual masks that won’t take four bottles of makeup remover to get off at the end of the night?”

Beside her, Maggie let out a snort that was completely at odds with the elegant dress she was wearing, which she had admitted to Kara she had pulled out of the back her closet at the last minute in an attempt to look feminine. “She’s got a point, babe.”

“It’s required! It was what was written on the invitation,” Alex repeated for the fourth time since they’d got ready at Kara’s apartment earlier. “The whole point is that you’re not meant to be able to take them off and show people who you a-”

“We _know_, Alex!” Kara said, humor lacing her tone. “It’s just itchy, is all. I didn’t realize all this glitter would tickle like this. I feel like I’ve got spiderwebs waving all over my face.”

They’d all done their own masks, sitting around giggling over glasses of wine and bottles of beer. Alex was sporting a mostly black mask with dark red streaks that matched her hair. Maggie’s was bright white with black spirals all over it; Maggie decided that since she couldn’t go in her uniform, she’d at least be wearing her police colors. What the spirals were meant to mean, Kara had no idea.

Kara, on the other hand, hadn’t gone for muted shades at all. Several drinks into getting ready, Kara had spotted the glitter and by the time Alex realized, it was too late. Kara had swiped the glue across her already yellow-painted face and added enormous glitter sunflowers to both cheeks. By the time Kara realized she looked a bit like a Pikachu with hair, it was far too late. She was committed. She was going to see this through to the end.

Once Alex and Maggie were done laughing, they’d all got dressed; Alex in a deep red off-the-shoulder dress, Maggie in a sleek, long black gown, and Kara? Kara was wearing a pale green sheath dress with deeper green accents. The gala was being hosted by the LunarSolar Foundation, and all proceeds were going towards aiding the child foster system in National City. Alex had been given three tickets from work, although why the FBI needed tickets to a gala like this, none of them knew. But as Kara was new to National City, having only just moved there three weeks ago from Midvale, Alex thought it would be good for her to have a night out.

The truth of it, though, was that Kara was nervous. Galas like this had never really been her thing. She was much more the pizza and potstickers night kind of person, and although getting dressed up and going to a party was fun once in a while, usually she knew more than two people who were attending. Here, she knew nobody other than Alex and Maggie, who were of course, already paired off.

Kara was third-wheeling like a pro, though. Once inside, they marveled at the lavish decorations, and Kara headed off through the crowd towards the bar to pick them up some drinks. When she got there, she noticed that even the bartenders were wearing masks. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something about the marks being painted on unsettled her a little bit. As she waited at the bar, Kara looked around. Many people seemed to have gone for simply-colored undertones, but with elaborate designs on their cheekbones. Some people had gone the whole hog and covered their entire face, not just their cheekbones, eyes, and part of their forehead like most people.

There was even… golly, was that person made up like a clown?! Complete with wig. Kara shivered and turned her attention back to the bartender, who had gone for a solid block of royal blue diagonally across his face. Alex was right, though, Kara admitted grudgingly as she picked up all three drinks. Because of the designs and block colors, it was impossible to tell who was who unless you happened to know the person. The face-shapes were completely distorted by the designs.

This would be uncanny valley central, if these people had all been androids.

(Perhaps they were.

Kara wasn’t judging.)

Kara made her way back across the floor towards Alex and Maggie, which was filled with couples dancing. The music was provided by a jazz band for the first part of the evening, but the presence of a large DJ booth let Kara know that there would be some more up-tempo dancing later.

“Hey, she’s back with the drinks!” Maggie exclaimed when Kara appeared at her elbow, holding the drinks out. “Cheers!”

“Do you know many people here?” Kara asked Alex in between sips of her strawberry daiquiri.

“No,” Alex replied, drawing out the sound as she looked around, “but I know of several people who are here.” She pointed with her beer bottle. “I’m pretty sure that huge guy over there is Bruce Wayne, of Wayne Tech in Metropolis. It’s hard to miss him. The Luthors will be here somewhere as well…” Alex trailed off as she narrowed her eyes before taking a large sip of her Old Fashioned, letting Kara know exactly what she thought of the Luthors, whoever they were.

“Who are the L-” she began to ask, but almost choked on her words as an elegant woman swept past her wearing a black, sleeveless pencil dress that displayed her collarbones admirably, and towering black heels. Kara didn’t need to examine them to know that they were definitely sporting a red underside to them. Straight dark hair trailed across her mostly bare shoulders, contrasting with her pale skin. Her mask was various shades of oranges, yellows, and greens, made to look like leaves were covering her cheekbones and fluttering all the way down to her jawline. And as she glanced up at Kara on her way past, Kara saw that her eyes were sea green.

The woman smiled slightly at her, those eyes quizzical as she noticed Kara looking at her, perhaps wondering if she knew her. And then she was gone, lost to the crowd. Kara was slack-jawed and she knew it.

“Earth to Kara!” Alex laughed, waving a hand in front of Kara’s face. “Who was that?”

Kara shook herself visibly, regardless of how silly it no-doubt looked, and shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. I don’t know anyone in National City besides you two! But she was…” Kara sighed.

Alex gave her a knowing look. “Uh huh,” she said. “Come on, stargazer. Let’s go dance!”

They formed a triangle on the dancefloor, throwing shapes to each type of music that the band played. Alex having had stronger drinks than either she or Maggie, performed the robot while the band played swing music, causing the other two to hold on to each other for support as they laughed. It crossed Kara’s mind then that she was glad to be in National City if it meant that she was going to be able to spend a lot more time with her sister. She’d missed her a lot since Alex had moved to the city three years ago, leaving Kara behind.

When a slow-dance piece of music began, Kara excused herself, leaving Alex and Maggie to dance together without her cramping their style, and headed over to the buffet table. The spread was huge, and Kara made a mental note to get herself invited to as many of these gala things as possible if there was _this much_ delicious-looking food on offer. There were canapés galore, mountains of chocolate covered strawberries, little tarts, who knew how many different types of cake, filled wraps, various types of pasta salad, and a huge variety of sushi. And that was just one end of the table. Kara grabbed a plate.

As she cheerily popped a raspberry tart into her mouth, Kara’s eyes moved around the room. As the night wore on, Kara had kept a subtle eye out for the dark-haired woman who’d walked past her earlier, but she hadn’t spotted her once. Kara would’ve almost thought she’d imagined her, if it hadn’t been for the elaborate and detailed mask she couldn’t have dreamed up. As she was looking around, she saw Alex and Maggie come out of a door, looking a little less than put-together, and Kara smiled to herself. She was glad they were such a happy couple; they suited each other well.

The orchestra switched out for the DJ an hour before midnight, who kicked his set off with the Grease Megamix, to Kara’s delight and Alex’s clear disgust. The cheese theme continued as the clock ticked closer to midnight, the DJ perhaps knowing that the majority of the audience was toasted by this point, and just wanted to sing along to songs they knew. The three of them enjoyed themselves as they danced along to the Macarena and various other songs, but as the minutes went past, it was obvious that people were pairing up.

Being single didn’t usually bother Kara unless there was a specific reason where being single was slightly awkward, like when everyone kissed at midnight. It was only a few minutes to midnight now, and Kara shifted from foot to foot. Alex shot her a little look of sympathy, knowing how Kara felt, but she didn’t want her sister to have to focus on her right now, so Kara waved a little and wandered off towards the edge of the dance floor.

She made her way over to a much quieter corner of the room to the stand where the LunarSolar Foundation had its promotional material, and absent-mindedly Kara picked up a leaflet, looking down at the happy faces of the kids in the success stories that they had. She herself had been adopted by the Danvers at age 13 after the deaths of her own parents, and she hoped that other kids would be as lucky either by fostering or adoption.

Suddenly, the DJ turned on his microphone and loudly declared that the countdown to midnight would start in less than a minute, and a huge cheer made its way around the room. Kara spotted Alex and Maggie, already liplocked, and shook her head. Always in a rush. She leaned sideways against the wall.

“You’re looking a little lonesome over here,” a voice said behind her, and Kara jumped, spinning around to see… _her_. Thanks to her heels, they were almost exactly the same height.

Clutching a hand to her chest, Kara let out a breathy giggle. “Hi,” she replied, a smile spreading across her face. The woman looked back at her, the same quizzical look in her eyes as she had earlier, coupled with an inquisitive frown; she looked like she was trying to figure her out. Kara wondered what it was that she found so interesting, before the woman reached up and touched the glitter sunflower on her right cheek. Kara stilled under her touch.

“I like your flowers,” the brunette said, in a mellifluous voice that sounded accented. Irish, perhaps?

“Thank you! I did them myself,” she burst out, and then squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.

“Well, you did a great job,” she said, laughter coloring her voice beautifully. Yeah, definitely Irish, Kara decided.

“I love your leaves,” Kara said, slowly looking over them once more before her blue eyes landed on the green eyes gazing at her. Everything she could see about this woman was exquisite, Kara realized. Standing this close to each other, she could look at her a little more blatantly. Her eyes were like green nebulae, and the thought that she could look at them for hours and still see something new rushed through Kara’s distinctly non-sober mind. Her dark hair was glossy, and she felt her hands itch to touch it, to learn what the strands would feel like between her searching fingers. Her voice was low and stirring, and the collarbones, _god_, had Phidias carved her out of marble?

The brunette flushed a little under Kara’s obvious scrutiny and smiled, dimples making themselves known on her cheeks. Kara felt her stomach swoop. “I-”

_“Ten! Nine! Eight!”_ the DJ announced, interrupting them.

Green eyes focused on her, almost urgently, Kara thought. “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” Kara replied, just as quickly.

“Single?”

“Yes.”

_“Five! Four!”_

“Do you want t-”

“Please,” Kara burst out.

_“Two!”_

And with another wide smile, the brunette hooked her arm around Kara’s waist, bringing herself flush against Kara’s body, and without further ado, closed the small distance between them and brushed her lips against Kara’s.

The touch was electric, and much softer than Kara was expecting given the hurried nature of their agreement. Her lips were warm and soft, and Kara pushed back against them, sliding one hand up the stranger’s neck and into her hair, pulling her impossibly closer, causing the other woman to groan slightly into her mouth. Kara heard the DJ shouting _happy new year!_ somewhere in the room, fireworks going off outside, and people cheering, but Kara couldn’t care less what year it was right now.

Their kiss moved from being rather chaste to something else very quickly as Kara felt heat shoot all around her body. There was a gentle hand on the side of her shoulder, moving to her neck, and the arm around her waist tightened. There was nothing shy about the way the brunette was kissing her now. Kara felt the swipe of a tongue along her bottom lip, and she gladly let the woman in. At the first touch of their tongues, Kara fisted the dark hair tightly between her fingers. She tasted like something citrus, sharp but sweet at the same time, and Kara couldn’t get enough.

Neither, it seemed, could the other woman, who subtly pressed her against the wall and tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth, before diving back in, all hot breath and tongue. Kara almost squeaked in surprise and pleasure, and it felt like all the blood in her body shot south. This wasn’t the kind of kiss that two people shared when they didn’t know each other. This kiss belonged in the bedroom, between lovers. Kara groaned. And then, someone nearby wolf-whistled at them, and dimly the sounds of the party around them became louder. Kara gasped as the woman pulled back, their lips separating audibly.

Dumbly, they stared at each other, their overheated bodies still touching, their eyes searching. Their faces were close enough that Kara could feel the gentle breaths of the brunette against her skin. Surprise was written all over the brunette’s face, surprise and shock that what should’ve been a quick kiss between two people who didn’t know each other had turned into… _that_.

Kara could feel the heat from a pale hand on her arm, a hand that squeezed gently as green eyes looked into hers, a silent, pleading question in them that Kara wasn’t sure she knew the answer to, any more than her companion did. There was a piece of golden glitter in one of the painted leaves on her face, and her dark lipstick was smudged.

“So, we…” the brunette began.

“We did. Um, we definitely- we definitely did. That. Kissed like that, I mean. Um.” Smooth, Kara. Smooth.

“That wasn’t quite what I expected,” the stranger replied. Were they strangers, now? “In a good way, though. That was really… more than a first kiss. That was something else. I don’t think that someone has ever kissed me like that before.” She punctuated her sentence with a smile, and Kara sighed in relief.

“This might sound awful, but do you… do you come here often?” Kara mentally slapped herself as the brunette raised an eyebrow at her. “I mean, do you come to this New Year’s galas every year?”

“I do,” came the low reply. “I’m here every year.” Kara felt a hand slide down her arm until gentle fingertips ran across the back of her hand, and tangled with hers.

“Meet me here, same place, same time, next New Year’s Eve?” Kara teased. Belatedly, Kara realized that one of her arms was still wrapped around the woman’s waist. She had no desire to move though, so she didn’t. Instead, she gently squeezed and brought their clasped hands up, swaying them gently from side to side, bringing another smile to a pale face. She leaned her head forward until their foreheads touched.

“I think I… want to know you,” Kara whispered. “I want to get to know you, before the next gala. Can I do that?”

“I’d like that, too,” her companion murmured, her voice earnest.

“What’s your name?”

For the first time, the brunette hesitated. “You might not want to get to know me, once you know my name. Once you know who I am,” she said, sadness tinging her tone, before she cleared her throat. “But I guess that’s… up to you. Once you know it.”

“Right now, I can’t think of anything I want to do more than to learn the name of the woman who just kissed me senseless.”

At that, Kara was treated to a deep, genuine laugh. One that sent waves of pleasure through her body and made the hair on her arms stand up.

“Okay,” she said, the hesitancy in her voice fading. “I’m L-”

“_There _you are!” a loud voice interjected, and Alex appeared over the brunette’s shoulder. This was the worst possible timing. And Alex was drunk, Kara could tell. Beside her, Maggie was almost struggling to hold her girlfriend upright. Reluctantly, she released the woman she held in her arms, and grasped Alex’s shoulder.

“A-”

“Hi,” Maggie said bluntly to the brunette, before looking back at Kara. “Can you help me get her to the cab outside? I think she’s about to pass out. Or die, I’m not sure. Either way, I can’t hold her weight by myself anymore.”

Kara shot her companion an apologetic look, one that she hoped conveyed just how annoyed she was at this interruption and how much she regretted that she would, in fact, have to leave for a moment. Thankfully, the brunette looked resigned to the situation, and stepped back. Stepped away from Kara.

“Same place, same time, next New Year’s Eve?” she asked, hope lacing her low voice.

“Definitely. I’ll definitely be here. And I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll come and find you,” Kara said, smiling as widely as the glitter on her face allowed. “Oh, and my name’s-”

“Kaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggghhhhh,” Alex moaned, and made a sound as if she were about to be sick. Everyone except Maggie jumped backwards, just in case, although the look on her face clearly said that she wanted to. The brunette backed away a little bit further, and seemingly didn’t want to try to share her name while they had company, because she didn’t try to. Kara wondered what it was, if it was one she wanted to keep private in front of strangers.

“I’ll get you a glass of water for her,” the brunette said, instead. “I’ll see you here when you come back?” she finished, giving her another hopeful smile, and holding up a hand to indicate where they were standing.

“I’ll be here,” Kara replied, and the brunette nodded, before turning around and heading back into the crowd towards the bar.

Maggie watched her go, and then turned to Kara. “Damn, Danvers,” she said, letting out a low whistle. “You two put on quite the display over here when midnight came and went!”

“Oh, shut up,” Kara huffed good-naturedly. “I haven’t got her name yet,” she added in a slightly smaller voice.

“You’ll get it once you’ve helped me get her to the cab,” Maggie stated, as if it was a fact. “Now, help me get this idiot to the cab before she pukes all over my only good pair of shoes.”

Together, they manhandled Alex towards the exit. Kara had lost sight of her mystery brunette, but Alex’s predicament was a little more urgent. She was still just about able to walk, but she couldn’t seem to hold her weight up properly.

“How much had she had to drink?” Kara grunted heavily, as they shuffled town the steps outside the venue towards the cab, which was waiting at the bottom. Alex wasn’t exactly large, but she was almost a dead weight right now.

“I didn’t think she’d had that much. I don’t think she ate, though.”

“Oh, _great_-”

“I’m not her mother-”

“Ohhh shurrrup both of you,” Alex mumbled in a wobbly voice. “Sssmy life.”

Kara and Maggie exchanged an eye roll over Alex’s shoulders. The cab driver looked less than impressed by the three of them and silently handed them a plastic bag. “If she pukes in the cab, it’s a $50 fine.”

“Fine, whatever,” Maggie snapped, grabbing the sick bag and passing it to Kara. “Stay here with her for a minute-”

“But-” Kara protested, feeling panic well up inside her.

“I have to go get our bags from the person I left them with when your sister decided that she needed to be 60% whisky instead of water,” Maggie huffed, as she dumped Alex unceremoniously in the back seat.

“If you see-”

“Yeah yeah,” Maggie threw over her shoulder, as she stalked back up the steps.

Fifteen minutes later, Alex thankfully still hadn’t thrown up, deciding instead that sleeping open-mouthed against the window was a much better idea. Maggie came back down towards the cab, holding hers and Alex’s bags, plus a bottle of water.

“Here,” she said, thrusting the water into Kara’s hands as she folded herself into the back seat with them both. “How is she?”

“Snoring.”

“Thank goodness for small mercies.”

“Tell me about it,” Kara said. The silence stretched as the cab pulled into traffic. “Did you see her?”

“Oh shit, sorry Kara. I didn’t see her, but I wasn’t really looking.”

Kara’s heart sank. She thought about the brunette, standing where they’d been together and waiting for her, holding a glass of water for nobody, and felt like a huge chance had passed her by.


	2. January

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy SuperCorp Sunday everyone! :)

Three weeks into January, and Kara finally thought that her little apartment felt like home. She stood in the middle of the lounge area, her hands on her hips, and surveyed her domain.

She’d chosen this apartment in the first place because she loved the exposed brick along some of the walls, and because the sun shone through in the evening rather than the morning. Kara was definitely not a morning person; being woken up by the sun was not something she relished the thought of, and this was especially important because her bedroom opened directly into the lounge where most of the windows were.

The apartment was open plan, and Kara and Alex had spent a lot of effort trying to make each area as defined as they could. The kitchen had a giant old table that served as an island and work area, there was a cozy sofa with a nearby large tv for their movie nights, a corner for her painting, and quite a lot of very strange lamps and overhead lights that Alex and Maggie had found in a flea market one weekend. Kara remembered them bringing in some of the monstrosities they’d found, giggling all the while, and agreed to keep and display all of them, much to their surprise.

The result was that her apartment looked kind of like an eclectic mix of all sorts of styles, and Kara loved it. It was like every piece of her home had its own personality, and every time she walked through the door, it made her smile.

Less easy was finding a job. Her move from Midvale had been less about making her mark in National City than it had been about moving closer to Alex and getting out of the small-town rut that she felt she had started to wallow in. She was happy enough in her job writing the news for the Midvale newspaper, but the prospects for the rest of her life didn’t seem to be as good. For one, there was nobody to date. Second, there was no upward mobility in her job. Third, Eliza had practically pushed her out of the door by saying that nothing exciting ever happened in Midvale, for god’s sake, and to go out and find some excitement.

Kara had done just that, but since her experience with work had been limited to working in the pizza and ice cream parlors in high school, and then the local paper once she’d got her journalism degree, finding a job had proved difficult. Eventually, after being rejected from several newspapers and magazines, Alex had remembered that Kara’s cousin Clark knew a man called James Olsen, who worked at CatCo Magazine. CatCo wasn’t a publication that Kara had applied to, given that magazine’s penchant for reporting more on fashion than anything that Kara considered really important, but a job was a job and she got it on the word of James alone.

The first two weeks had been hard. Her boss, Snapper Carr, seemed to sense that she hadn’t truly earned her job through her own merit, and kept setting her the most ridiculous journalism tasks such as interviewing the woman who was attempting to break the world record for the amount of gerbils one could keep in their apartment, and writing a piece on how attractive, or not, all the bridges in National City were.

Regardless of how she felt about the subjects themselves, Kara threw herself into the pieces with her whole heart, and tried her best.

Yeah, she thought, as she rushed through her breakfast before leaving for work, the last few weeks had been really busy. She almost didn’t have time to daydream over the girl from the gala on New Year’s Eve. Well… she managed to only daydream about twenty times a day, which, you know, was less than thirty which seemed like a good thing in Kara’s book. The truth was, if she was honest with herself, the girl crossed her mind every spare second. She wished she’d got to know her name. All she knew was that it began with L, and that she was Irish. In a city the size of National City though, the chances of running into her again before the next gala was very small. She might not even have lived in National City, although she did say she went to them every year…

Kara tapped her mouth with her spoon in contemplation. There were too many variables to consider. Plus, although the brunette had asked whether Kara was single, she had not really had time to confirm whether she herself was. The thought made Kara’s stomach lurch. She wondered whether the brunette loved anyone, or whether anyone loved her, and then felt conflicted over both points; how was it that she could’ve made such a strong impression in only a few minutes as to make her want to somehow be that person? She shook her head. Surely it was ridiculous to even think of it; it was just one kiss…

She also couldn’t keep calling her the brunette from the gala. Kara had decided to name her GreenLeaves in her mind, on account of the brunette’s leafy mask, thinking the pun on the music title Greensleeves was funny. Neither Alex nor Maggie had thought it was as hilarious as Kara thought it was; in fact, both had told her in no uncertain terms that it was absolutely lame, but the name had stuck regardless.

Lost in thought, the time passed, and Kara’s cereal grew soggier, until finally she was almost late. Yelping, she almost threw the bowl into the sink behind her and grabbed everything she needed for work. Stowing her laptop in its carry case, she yanked her keys out of the bowl near the door and headed out in a rush.

Three hours later, Kara was sitting at her desk, running her hands through her hair in frustration. Snapper Carr hadn’t liked anything she’d written lately, and sent everything back covered in red marker pen, which was _so_ old-school. Kara wanted to prove herself in her job, she did, so she accepted even the rude criticism as constructive, smiling her thanks through gritted teeth. She got the feeling that Carr also wanted her to do well, but that he wasn’t going to hold her hand while he rained criticism down on her. She understood that she had to build her own steel umbrella that consisted of good work and, golly, she was going to create it even if it killed her.

Groaning, she pushed her glasses further up her nose and was halfway to standing up to head out for lunch, when Carr suddenly appeared in front of her desk. Resisting the urge to groan a second time, she sat back down with a bump and waited to see what he had to say.

“Ponytail,” _god she hated that nickname_, “I’ve got a new assignment for you.”

“Great!” she exclaimed, forcing enthusiasm into her voice. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure whether the news has trickled down to you millennials, but LuthorCorp has recently been rebranded L-Corp by its new CEO, Lena Luthor. It seems she’s trying to… change the company’s image. Good luck to her after what her brother used it for,” he snarled, disgust in his voice. Kara was surprised; she hadn’t heard Carr disclose a personal opinion about something before. “Anyway. I want you to go over there later this week and interview her about the company, yada yada yada. Go on Friday. Your interview’s at 3pm.” And with that, he turned on his heel and stalked back into his office.

Kara racked her brains. She had heard something about the Luthor family since moving to National City. Billionaires, fingers in all sorts of pies, money lining the pockets of all sorts of people. She also remembered that Alex hadn’t seemed very happy that the Luthors were apparently at the gala, although she hadn’t pointed them out. She wasn’t entirely sure whether Alex would’ve recognized them through their masks and her drunken state anyway.

Fishing her cell phone out of her bag, she sent Alex a quick text.

**Kara:** _Want to come over for a drink later?_

Her phone pinged with a response several minutes later.

**Alex:** _Sure. What’s up?_

**Kara:** _I’ll tell you when you get there. I think I got a decent assignment!_

* * * * *

Alex was sprawled on her sofa, an unreadable expression on her face as she sipped scotch from her glass. “I don’t know Kara, the Luthors are kind of bad news. To be honest, I don’t know much about Lena Luthor, she’s kind of an unknown, but her brother Lex was pretty much a terrorist. He was planning some sort of attack before he was arrested and sent to jail for the rest of his life. Their mother Lillian supported him in his trial. LuthorCorp, or L-Corp I suppose it is now… you’ve probably got at least ten things in this apartment that have been made by that company. But their main business is biotechnology, electronics, technology. Lex and Lillian are seriously terrible people. Absolutely terrible; they’re bigots, racists, anti-immigrant, you name it.”

Kara shivered. From the sound of it, Lillian and Lex Luthor really didn’t seem like a nice pair of people. “I have to go and interview Lena Luthor about why she changed the name of the company. There’s got to be a reason she took the name Luthor right out of it.”

“Yeah, probably. Knowing that family, it was probably for some nefarious reason.”

For some reason, Kara felt slightly protective of this woman, even though they’d never met. “We should give her a chance, Alex. She may not be like the rest of her family.”

Alex gave her an exasperated look. “The apple doesn’t tend to fall too far from the tree in families like hers, Kara.”

Kara sipped her own drink contemplatively, and decided she’d approach the interview the same way she approached anything else she did – with copious amounts of research and an open mind.

Perhaps sensing that Kara wanted to change the topic, Alex tilted her scotch towards her. “So, how many times have you thought about GreenLeaves today?”

Kara smiled into her glass. “Well…”

* * * * *

To Kara’s frustration, googling information on Lena Luthor turned out to be much more difficult than she expected it to be. She appeared to be notoriously, almost obsessively, private. Oh, there was plenty of speculative information on her, from non-confirmed sources, and it was easy enough to glean certain tidbits about her from the photos she posted on her official Instagram page. There were almost no photos of her on said Instagram aside from posed shots from various fundraisers, but there were plenty of photos of dogs, skyline photos from various business trips she’d taken, interesting-looking plants, and shots of inside bookstores. There were also many photos of books, mostly scientific in nature, but every now and again, she spotted something else. Tolstoy, _the Hunger Games_, _Dracula_. Nothing particularly cheery, and nothing that Kara had ever read.

There were various photos of her around the web if she put her name in a Google image search, but they were all professional shots, or photos taken at galas, art gallery launches, or at the- was that Barack Obama with his arm around her?!

In terms of official information, she learnt that Lena had not one, but two PhD’s – one in biological engineering, and another one in robotics engineering. Her bachelor and master degrees included mechanical engineering, biochemical engineering, theoretical physics, and business. Kara was intimidated just looking at the list of her accomplishments. A TED talk on the future of quantum technology, research into eradication of cancer through biochemical manipulation… all that, and she was only twenty-four. With a brain that big, Kara had no doubt she’d achieve anything she set out to do.

She just hoped that her aims were not as awful as Alex seemed to think they could be.

By Friday afternoon she was standing in the expansive L-Corp lobby, and Kara had worked herself into a bit of a state. She still had no real idea what this Lena Luthor would be like in person. She didn’t think it was too much of a stretch to imagine her as some kind of robot, churning out glowing achievement after achievement like an assembly line of excellence. The truth was, she was nervous about meeting her, and Kara didn’t usually get nervous about meeting people no matter who they were.

When the receptionist pointed her towards the elevator and called up to Lena Luthor’s assistant to confirm her appointment, she wiped her suddenly sweaty hands surreptitiously on her skirt, hoping it wouldn’t be visible. And, of course, that her hands would stop sweating by the time she got up there. Somehow, she didn’t think shaking the accomplished CEO’s hand with her sweaty one would leave the best impression.

Walking into the elevator, she was surprised when a huge security man got in with her. Looking at him out of the corner of her eye, she was reminded of a phrase an old British friend at college had once used to describe people seemingly made of solid walls of muscle – _built like a brick shithouse_. She didn’t think-

“Miss Danvers?”

“Yes?” she squeaked, her voice probably high enough to make dogs bark across the city.

“I’m here to escort you to Miss Luthor’s office,” he intoned bluntly, swiping a security card through a card reader next to the buttons. A moment later Kara noticed, not without trepidation, that although the elevator was definitely moving, the floor indicator was not showing which floor she was on, nor were the buttons lighting up. She had no idea which floors they were passing; Lena Luthor’s office was obviously meant to be in a private location within the building, and she was being escorted by a security guard.

Who _was_ this woman?!

Finally, the elevator doors dinged, and the security guard looked at her before gesturing that she should get out. She did so without hesitating. The floor was quiet, and the reception they were in contained only two doors. One looked as heavy as a bank vault, and Kara gulped at the sight of it. The other door looked relatively normal (but who knew in this place?), and had a desk outside of it with a woman sitting behind it, typing something. The security guard walked her up to the desk, and to Kara’s surprise, he spared a smile for the receptionist.

“Hi, Jess,” he said, in a considerably friendlier tone than he’d used with Kara.

“Hey Chip,” Jess replied, looking up and giving him a wide smile. _Chip?! This guy’s name is Chip?_

“This is Miss Danvers, from CatCo Magazine. She’s Miss Luthor’s three o’ clock.”

“Great, thank you!” Job done, Chip ambled back off to the elevator, a spring in his step that hadn’t been there before, swiped his card again, and left. This left Kara alone in the reception, aside from Jess, whom she was pretty sure Chip had a crush on.

“You can just sit there for the next few minutes. Miss Luthor is currently on a conference call and will be finished in a few minutes,” Jess said kindly. “Would you like something to drink while you wait? Water, tea, coffee, juice?”

“I’m fine,” Kara replied, her voice sounding higher than normal and not at all like her own. She cleared her throat and tried again at a more normal pitch. “Thank you, though.”

“No problem. I’ll let you know when Miss Luthor is ready for you.”

Kara sat gingerly on the spotless sofa that Jess had indicated, and picked up one of the magazines that were piled up on the table in front of her. They were all pristine and up to date business and science magazines, not like the tatty year-old Enquirers at her dentist’s office. She thumbed through one of them, careful not to bend any of the pages. She felt like she was in a museum or a library. Even her breathing felt loud in the still silence of the reception. The air felt fresh despite there being no windows or visible air conditioners; how did they manage that?

Ten minutes of extremely careful fidgeting later, a short beep sounded from somewhere on Jess’ desk. She watched as Jess stood up and walked over to her. “Miss Luthor will see you now,” she said. “Please follow me.”

Jess swiped a security card through yet another card reader on the side of the door next to Kara, and they walked through it. They turned right through another set of double doors and walked directly into a large office, at one end of which, was Lena Luthor herself. Kara felt her nerves fly around her stomach as if they were all in jet planes.

“Miss Luthor, this is Kara Danvers from CatCo Magazine. She’s here to interview you,” Jess announced, her voice carrying across the quiet office.

“I surmised as much Jess,” Lena said, no bite whatsoever in her voice despite the sarcastic words, and she looked up in order to smile warmly at her assistant. “Thank you, I’ll take it from here.”

Jess left through the same doors they’d come through; Kara noticed that they were the only doors in the office.

Lena rose behind her desk, catching Kara’s attention.

It was so _unfair_, really, that Lena Luthor had the giant brain she did, but also that in person she was absolutely, without question, the most radiantly beautiful woman that Kara had ever seen in her life. Her nerves doubled in front of the striking brunette. She was wearing a dark red dress underneath a black suit jacket, and her dark hair was swept up into a stylish knot on top of her head. Her eyes were a piercing green, Kara could see that even from across the office. Her makeup was flawless, and her skin was so pale that it put Kara in mind of moonlight somewhere where there would be no light pollution. Moonlight that was pure, unadulterated, perfect-

“Good afternoon, Miss Danvers,” Lena said in a low voice that sounded like dark chocolate and late nights, giving her a puzzled look and interrupting her internal monologue. Kara startled, realizing that she’d both been staring at the CEO and standing there like a lemon.

“Good afternoon, Miss Luthor,” Kara echoed, moving forward a step towards the desk.

Lena walked towards her, her gait elegant, and held out her hand for Kara’s. Kara took it; Lena’s handshake was firm, but soft. Definitely not like a robot, Kara thought. “It’s nice to meet you. Won’t you please sit down?” Lena pointed at one of the chairs in front of her desk once Kara had let go of her hand. “Would you like some water?”

“Oh um, yes please,” Kara replied, suddenly feeling much more parched than she had done while sitting outside with Jess. She watched as Lena went over to a table in front of what looked like a bookcase, but mostly held what appeared to be strangely shaped vases and candlesticks in shades of black, white, and grey. Like the rest of the room. She could swear that her voice was somehow familiar, yet she was sure she’d never been in the presence of anyone quite like Lena Luthor before.

Lena came back towards her and placed the glass of water on a coaster in front of Kara, before sitting back down in her chair and giving Kara a searching gaze. Kara still wasn’t sure what she expected from the dark-haired woman in front of her, but it certainly wasn’t an inviting smile and a friendly, “so what can I do for you, Miss Danvers?”

Kara let out a little laugh that she hoped belied her nerves. “To be completely honest Miss Luthor, my boss sent me here to interview you about why you’ve changed the name of LuthorCorp to L-Corp, but I’m not so sure that would fill an entire article.”

“Oh? And why do you think so?” Lena raised an eyebrow. Her tone of voice was even and gave no indication of how she felt about what Kara had just said, but Kara hesitated; she suddenly had a sinking feeling, like she’d somehow insulted Lena, although she wasn’t sure which part of what she’d said was the culprit.

She took a deep breath. “Mostly just because I- well, I’ve done some reading about you in preparation for this interview and actually, it was really hard to find any information about your personal feelings about… about LuthorCorp and about your, um, family, and-” Kara ploughed on as she watched Lena’s eyebrows practically disappear into her hairline, “I think that the reason you’re changing the company name is because you’re different from them and don’t want to be associated with what they’ve done. I mean, you took the Luthor name out of it entirely and left only the first letter, and you spent all that time trying to cure cancer and you refused to attend your brother’s trial and… um, well, you seem like you’re trying to distance yourself from them.” And just like that, she ran out of steam and out of words.

Oh god. Oh…_ god_. Did she really just say all of that? To Lena Luthor’s face? Snapper Carr was going to kill her in the most painful of ways. She’d have to say goodbyes to Alex on her way back to the office. She grabbed the glass of water just to have something to do with her hands, and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Miss Danvers.”

Slowly, she opened her eyes to find green ones staring right back at her. She couldn’t be sure, but was that- was that a spark of humour?

“Yes?” she blurted out, wondering whether or not she should apologise.

“You pretty much just wrote your own article.”

“I- wait, I did?”

“Yes,” Lena replied, leaning back in her chair and regarding Kara with interest. “Most people think that there’s no such thing as a good Luthor, but you’re correct when you say that I’m different, or trying to be. I want to make a name for myself outside of my family. This company is wide-reaching and has many subsidiaries. Most of them are biotechnological, and I’m trying to change the direction that they’re going, to be helpful rather than heinous…” she trailed off, before giving Kara a questioning look. “Miss Danvers, aren’t you meant to be recording this, somehow?”

Kara jumped, and realized that Lena was right. She watched as an easy smile spread across Lena’s face. “You’re right. Can you tell that I’m new at this? And that I’m also kind of nervous?” Kara said, searching in her bag for her recorder, placing it on the desk in front of her and switching it on.

“I can’t imagine why. I’m just a person, like you,” Lena remarked, picking up her own glass of water and taking a sip, never taking her eyes off Kara.

“Yeah, but you’re _Lena Luthor_.”

“And who is Lena Luthor, exactly?” Lena sounded thoroughly amused by this point.

Shit. Could this interview get any more off-track?

She may as well ask. “Was that a rhetorical question?”

“Nope.” Green eyes sparkled. “Trust me, Miss Danvers. Whatever you have to say about me, I’ve heard a thousand times. Everyone in National City has an opinion about me, most of them not very complimentary.”

“Well, I think that’s kind of sad,” Kara started. Surprise flitted across Lena’s face briefly and then it was gone, covered by careful impassivity. “No, really. I’m quite new to National City myself, and whatever I know about your family came from the internet. Like I said, I did some reading on you before this interview. I know you have about a million degrees-”

“A bit of an exaggeration, wouldn’t you say?” Lena interrupted, smiling and putting her hands on the desk, fingers locked together.

“Well, you’ve got five more than I have anyway. The point is that you’re super-intelligent and got all those degrees despite being really young. You’re already a CEO. You haven’t expressed, publicly anyway, any viewpoints that would put you in line with your family, um, and I kind of hope you don’t express them privately either, no offence-”

Lena laughed gently. “None taken, Miss Danvers. And for the avoidance of doubt, I don’t.”

“Good to know,” Kara smiled at her. “Anyway, my point is that you’re kind of… I don’t think people know what to make of you. You’ve clearly got the brains, but you’re kind of… a mystery. Nobody knows much about you personally. They just know your family and… well, people aren’t sure what you’re going to do next, and I think that makes people nervous.”

Lena raised her eyebrow again, leaned forward, picked up a pen, and made a note on a piece of paper in front of her. Upside-down, Kara couldn’t make out what it said, but it looked like it was in another language. “People, you say… people like you?” Lena asked, her voice low with the slightest tinge of sadness in it. For the first time, it sounded like she was asking for Kara’s personal opinion, rather than her professional one.

Kara frowned in contemplation when she realized that she felt a little sorry for Lena. What must it be like, to be constantly judged against the poor standards her family had set? “No, not any more.”

“And why is that?” Lena inquired, sounding interested and vaguely hopeful.

“You’re… nice.”

Lena chuckled, startling Kara with the mellow sound of it; it was a very pleasant laugh, the sound soft, and for some inexplicable reason, Kara hoped to hear more of it. “I’m nice? Well, that’s not one I hear very often from journalists.”

“Then the other journalists are idiots.”

Lena didn’t say anything in response to that, but instead gave Kara the most intense look she had yet. Kara felt like Lena was looking right into her. “Well, Miss Danvers-”

“Please, call me Kara,” Kara cut in.

“Okay, Kara. This interview-”

“Has been a complete train wreck.”

“I was going to say unusual, but I suppose that works too. Don’t worry,” she said, her voice sounding concerned as she caught sight of Kara’s stricken expression, “it was a breath of fresh air. Mostly they’re really stilted. Write the article however you want to. You seem to have the right idea about why I wanted to change the name of the company, and I trust you to say the right things.”

Kara felt warm at Lena’s easy acceptance of her, and her apparent trust in her journalistic abilities. “Not that I’m not flattered, but why would you say that? You don’t know me or my writing.”

Lena waved her hand in the air as if to swat the question away. “You’re the first person in a long time who’s not truly, or at least seriously, pre-judged me because of my last name. And that’s important to me. I want to turn L-Corp into a force for good, and that started with a name change. I wasn’t always a Luthor, you know.”

Kara looked up. “You weren’t?”

Lena shook her head in a move that struck Kara as distinctly _Lena_ and not Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp. “No. My father was Lionel Luthor, that’s true, but Lillian isn’t my mother. Lex is only my half-brother. I was adopted into the Luthor family when I was four. They gave me the best of everything, but I never felt I… quite fitted in with them. In fact, I only really felt like myself when I was away at university, out of their grasp. As long as I was getting good grades and not getting myself into any trouble, I was mostly left alone while I was away.”

“Did you?” Kara asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Did I what?”

“Get into any trouble.”

Lena huffed out a surprised laugh, looked down, and then gave Kara a mischievous smile and a look from under her eyelashes that Kara would’ve said was flirty if her common sense didn’t tell her otherwise. “Not that Lillian ever knew about.”

* * * * *

Three days later, Kara’s article about Lena Luthor was submitted and approved. Snapper Carr had sent it back to her only once for a few factual corrections. She could’ve sworn that he almost looked pleased with her article, if she hadn’t been sure that his face couldn’t form that particular expression.

On the 30th of January, the article was published with Kara’s name in the by-line, and to celebrate, Alex took her out for a good Chinese meal followed by ice cream and donuts. She was so proud of herself. It had taken a long time for her to get to this point, or at least, it felt like a long time to Kara. But there was her name, right there in black and white, at the bottom of a serious article that was actually pretty good, all things considered. She debated framing it before deciding that, actually, she would. The piece was good, and it was her first real assignment, so why shouldn’t she?

On the 31st of January, Kara walked into her office to find her desk overflowing with flowers. Putting her laptop case on the floor, she sat down at her desk and looked at them, picking them up carefully and touching their leaves. Most of them were unusual, and she didn’t recognize quite a few of them. Only one of them had a card attached. Kara carefully fished it out, opening the tiny envelope and pulling out a card.

_Thank you :) L._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and our ladies meeting for the "first" time, ahem :) no, they definitely don't recognise each other. If they had, this story would've been really short; there's another 60,000+ words to go yet! :) <3


	3. February

Kara was asleep on her desk. This wasn’t the first time that it had happened; ever since the article about Lena Luthor had been published, Snapper Carr seemed to want make it his personal mission to make Kara the best reporter that she could be, and that meant sending her to any and all newsworthy events that occurred in National City. She’d barely slept a wink in the two weeks since the article had come out, her evenings and nights spent researching in her apartment surrounded by junk food and boxes of sweet pastries from the bakery that was extremely inconveniently (or conveniently, when Kara was late for work and needed breakfast on the go) just outside her apartment block’s front door.

It could be said that her job was going well for Kara now. Despite her recent exhaustion, she was very happy in her work. She felt energized every time she was given a new project, and she threw herself into it as much as she could each time. Alex was happy that Kara had found something she enjoyed to this extent, and she was making friends as well.

Winn Schott worked in IT at CatCo, mostly running to the assistance of Cat Grant whenever she had an issue, which unfortunately seemed to be often. Kara hadn’t met Cat Grant, although from what she could tell from what Winn told her, Cat’s bark was far worse than her bite. She certainly ran a tight ship.

Winn was funny, smart, and sweet. She liked him a lot, and they quickly discovered a mutual interest in all kinds of games. They had already roped Alex and a less-than-enthusiastic Maggie into joining game night with them. Winn and Kara were a formidable pair at Trivial Pursuit, but Alex was a shark when it came to poker, and everyone regularly found themselves losing all their chips to her. Kara was fairly certain that she now owed Alex several favours in lieu of chips she just didn’t have left. Knowing Alex, she would probably call Kara to cash in at some awful hour of the morning, and be absolutely gleeful about it.

James Olsen, who had been Kara’s in when it came to CatCo, also joined their group of friends. He was dating a lady called Lucy, who was an army lawyer. They’d been in a relationship for the past year, and they were pretty loved up. James was CatCo’s resident photographer, and he often brought his camera along to game nights and any other outings that they had. He was working on a new personal project that had something to do with different facial expressions in types and colours of light that would normally oppose them, such as smiling faces in dark bars with red light, or angry faces with yellow tints, which would normally denote happiness. Kara wasn’t quite sure what it was all about, but she wasn’t camera-shy, so she was a frequent subject.

James was originally from Metropolis and hadn’t been living in National City for that long either, so they both felt like they were exploring the city together sometimes. They tried out new restaurants, around parks and historical houses, and dragged their friends to the bowling alleys.

Once, a few nights ago, she and James had been at the opening of a new art gallery that focused on urban photography. Kara was wearing a brand-new royal blue dress and James was in a suit, and they cut fine figures as they glided around the gallery. Kara had never been to an art gallery opening before and wanted to make the most of every moment.

While James was examining a large photo of a man in a coat walking down a street in the pouring rain, passing under a streetlight, Kara accepted a drink from a passing waiter and sipped it as she looked around. It had occurred to her that this was the kind of occasion that she might bump into GreenLeaves, not that she supposed she’d recognize her.

Nevertheless, she kept her eyes and ears peeled for someone who might resemble her. Kara felt slightly embarrassed about it, but ever since New Year’s, she seemed to have some kind of antenna that was tuned into Irish accents. She’d never noticed them before, but now she heard them everywhere; as soon as she heard it, her ears pricked up. Of course, she had no idea whether GreenLeaves even liked photography, but given that they’d met at a gala, an art gallery opening didn’t seem too much of a stretch.

The cream of National City seemed to be in attendance. Since her social faux pas in not knowing who the Luthors were, Kara had paid a little more attention to who the most influential people were, and she gazed around as dollars dressed up as people walked right past her. There was Maxwell Lord with his latest model girlfriend. There went Morgan Edge, a creep if she’d ever seen one, trying to flirt with a well-dressed woman who was having none of it; Kara nearly snorted her drink when the woman held up her thumb and index finger, almost pressing them together, before stalking off and leaving Edge with a beetroot face.

Kara pushed her glasses further up her nose as she continued looking around, occasionally leaning in to listen to James when he had a comment to make about the rain photo. Suddenly, she spotted someone she thought she knew in the crowd. The woman was wearing a dark green dress, and her hair was long, dark, and fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Was that…

As Kara was watching, the woman turned around, and she was surprised to see that it was Lena Luthor, holding a full glass of champagne and laughing with none other than Jess, who was gesturing towards a tall gentleman with salt and pepper hair. Kara froze in place, not knowing whether she should turn around and pretend she never saw her, or wave, or, or-

But then Lena was beaming at her, and waggling her fingers in her direction in a strange kind of wave, and Kara waved back while simultaneously raising her champagne glass. Could she get any dorkier?! Oh well, she thought. It wasn’t as if Lena was going to abandon her conversation with someone important and come over here to talk to her.

Except, she was. She was excusing herself and coming Kara’s way.

Kara watched Lena approach, and didn’t know what to do with her hands. She took a sip on her champagne and, mortifyingly, coughed on it, feeling it burn its way down her throat. Lena’s face instantly morphed into one of concern as she reached Kara.

“Kara! Are you alright?” she asked, her forehead creased in worry.

Clearing her throat and feeling her eyes water, Kara nodded. “Yep, I’m fine,” she wheezed in response, pressing her hand against her chest.

“Well,” Lena said, still looking a little misgiving, “maybe don’t drink any more of that.” She hailed a nearby waiter and asked him for a glass of water. He nodded, looking a little wide-eyed at who was speaking to him, and headed off.

“You didn’t need to do that,” Kara said, clearing her throat again.

“I think I did,” Lena said, treating her to a wide smile. The way her wavy hair framed her face tonight was stunning, Kara thought. Lena looked like some kind of… medieval queen, or something, and her hair looked so incredibly soft. Absently, she wondered whether Lena’s hair was naturally wavy, before she realized she was staring again.

Thankfully, Lena didn’t seem to mind that Kara’s gaze had wandered over her for _just_ a moment longer than was strictly polite. There was a glint in her eye that made Kara flush a little.

“I just wanted to come over here and thank you again, personally, for the article you wrote. You made me sound like the black sheep of the Luthor family, and I loved it. I’m absolutely sure that my mother didn’t.” She did look thrilled, Kara thought; her eyes were shining with amusement with the thought of putting Lillian out.

“You’re welcome! And thank you for all the flowers. They were really beautiful, and some of them were so exotic!”

“I love unusual flowers that people may not necessarily recognize. They don’t answer to anybody’s expectations,” Lena said, leaning in slightly towards Kara as if she were saying something confidential and grinning, before standing up straight again. “I’m afraid I have to go and schmooze a little bit, but I got in contact with your boss. I hope it’s not an imposition, but I’d like you to interview me again. My PR manager seemed to think that your article went a long way to helping change people’s perceptions of me. Apparently, my approval rating rose for the first time since I got here!”

Kara let the compliment warm her from the inside out. “I’m so pleased that you liked it, you have no idea!” she burst out. “It was my first proper article and I’m so happy I could help. And yes, of course, I’d love to interview you again.”

“Great! I’m sure your boss will set things up with Jess; she organizes all my time and I don’t know what I’d do without her. Speaking of, I’m sorry, but I have to get back to her. I feel as if I’ve rather abandoned her.”

“Oh, no problem Miss L- er, Lena. I hope you have a great night!” Kara gave her a little wave.

“You too, Kara,” Lena replied, giving a friendly smile and her upper arm a little squeeze before heading back the way she’d come. Kara could feel her skin tingling where Lena’s warm fingers had touched it.

James sauntered back over and watched Lena leave. “I didn’t realise that you knew Lena Luthor that well,” he remarked, sounding impressed.

“She really liked the interview that I did with her last month, and she’s just asked me to do another one,” Kara replied, taking a last lingering glance at Lena before turning her attention to James.

“Oh yes, I heard about all the flowers she sent. I’m not sure about the Luthors, myself,” Kara felt herself bristling at that, “but your article showed Lena is a little bit different to the rest of them. I guess I should think of her as innocent until proven guilty, instead of the other way around. I hope the next interview goes as well.”

Kara resisted the urge to roll her eyes, not liking his judgmental tone of voice. “Thanks, James.”

As for Kara? She couldn’t wait until the next time she saw Lena. She definitely intrigued her, and she wanted to get to know her a little bit better, especially if she could help her through her articles. She seemed very genuine, and she wanted to see which other good qualities Lena exhibited. And with that, she drew James’ attention to the next photograph in the collection, in an effort to change the topic. “What do you think of this one?”

* * * * *

Kara was finishing up her article on whether National City needed some new residential areas if the old, dilapidated areas near the docks were renovated when Snapper Carr headed her way. Kara internally braced herself for impact, while externally she pasted a polite smile on her face.

“Ponytail, I’ve had a request from L-Corp for you to go back and interview Lena Luthor again. It seems they were pleased with your first article, and Miss Luthor requested you personally. You must have impressed her somehow, and it would be good if you could cultivate this… friendship, or whatever it is you two have together, because it might mean more exclusives in the future.”

Kara was aghast that he’d phrased it quite the way he had. She understood, of course, that journalists built relationships with people for that exact purpose, but to do that with Lena seemed rather… rude. Not that they were friends exactly, but using Lena for the purposes of quotes for an article didn’t seem the right thing to do. Hoping that didn’t show at all on her face, she nodded.

She could admit to herself that she’d come away from their first interview quite liking Lena Luthor, and some part of her hoped that they could be friends in the future, if this second interview went well.

“Did L-Corp say what they wanted me to interview her about this time?” she asked.

“No,” he replied, lifting his eyes to look at the ceiling, “they didn’t mention that in their request, but, and this is a little weird if you ask me, they asked what kind of donuts you like. They were quite insistent. I can’t _believe_ I’m even asking this.”

This time Kara couldn’t help it. Her jaw dropped open and she gaped like a fish for a moment. “Um, I like all kinds, but maybe just say to get a mix of them, because I have no idea what kind Lena Luthor likes.”

He gave her a curt nod. “Your interview is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, four o’clock. Make it another good one.”

Carr strode off back towards his office, stopping to snap at an intern on the way, and Kara stared at her laptop screen.

Donuts?

* * * * *

That night, Kara lay on the sofa scrolling through Instagram. She liked several of Alex’s most recent posts, most of which seemed to be videos that centred around new moves she was perfecting in her martial arts classes. She deliberated whether or not to follow Lena’s professional and verified account, because on the one hand she thought it might be a bit strange, but on the other hand, she already had over one and a half million followers and followed only 54, so the chances that she’d even notice were slim to none. At least, she hoped, as she hit follow.

The internal cringe that happened every time she followed a celebrity or someone influential washed through her for a moment, before she shook it off and popped another potsticker from her takeout box into her mouth.

There was nothing that she could do to prepare for tomorrow’s interview, because the request hadn’t made it clear what she was meant to be interviewing Lena about this time. Lena herself had mentioned that her PR manager thought her article had helped her approval rating (the fact that Lena even had to have an approval rating spoke of the influence that she had), and she wondered what else they thought she could do for them. There was nothing new she could google about Lena that she hadn’t already found before their first meeting.

Tossing her cell across her sofa, she burrowed into her cushions and pulled her blanket further up around her, intending to settle in and binge-watch _Downton Abbey_, because that seemed the sort of thing to do on a particularly cold February evening. There was a pint of particularly excellent ice cream waiting on her table, and she reached for it, digging the spoon into it and taking a freezing mouthful.

Her peaceful evening was disturbed. She was only halfway through her first episode when her cell pinged with a notification on her lock screen. Groaning, she reached across to pick it up and nearly dropped it when she saw what it was.

**lenakluthor** started following you.

She dropped the spoon from her mouth and frantically opened her Instagram app and scrolled through it, searching for anything potentially unprofessional or awkward, before realizing that she never posted anything weird, and that most of her posts consisted of food, herself being dumb with dogs, or cosy-looking places she came across.

Kara quickly made her profile private, though. Probably something she should’ve done a while ago. Slipping further down into her sofa, she wondered whether it was Lena herself who ran her professional account, or whether it was her social media team. She was aware that Lena also had a twitter account, although she’d posted exactly four things five years ago. There was definitely no danger of making a slip-up with that one.

Shrugging, she snapped a photo of her _Downton_ marathon and uploaded it, tucked her phone in next to her, and focused her attention back to the tv screen. Several episodes in, as she fell asleep, she didn’t notice the next notification.

**lenakluthor** liked your post.

* * * * *

Kara stood in the lobby of L-Corp with the receptionist while they waited for the security guard to come and escort her up to Lena’s floor, whichever it was. It was safe to assume it was high up, because the view that she had from her balcony was quite spectacular. The receptionist was fielding a call about something or other, so Kara took the time to look around. It was quite a stark and cold-looking lobby, as far as they went. Lots of concrete and dark colours. It was in direct contrast to Lena’s office, which was very bright. Kara wondered how much of a hand Lena had had in the decoration of her office.

“Are you ready, Miss Danvers?”

“Hello, Chip!” Kara said cheerfully, when she recognized him.

He gave her a slight smile and nodded at her, before gesturing towards the elevators. “Same as before, Miss Danvers. I’ll escort you to Miss Luthor’s assistant, and she’ll take it from there,” he said, swiping his card, and they began their journey to the mystery floor.

Kara was silent in the elevator, wondering what it was that she would be interviewing Lena about this time. She contemplated asking Jess when she arrived at the right floor, but didn’t think there was much point, since she’d find out from Lena probably just a few minutes later, and there was very little research she’d be able to do on her cell with very little time in which to do it.

She didn’t miss the huge smile that Chip shot Jess when they arrived on the right floor, nor the way that the assistant’s cheeks flushed under his attention. Kara pursed her lips and fought back a smile and watched as Jess’ eyes followed Chip back to the elevator. When he was gone, Jess turned her attention back to Kara and blushed again when she noticed that Kara had witnessed the whole encounter for what it was.

“Would you like some, um, water, Miss Danvers?” she asked sheepishly.

“Yes please, Jess,” Kara smiled.

“Miss Luthor is in a meeting at the moment, but she’ll be back up here in time for her meeting with you at four o’clock,” she said, her professional manner returning. She poured Kara a cold glass of water from some kind of machine under her desk and come around to hand it to Kara.

“How high-tech is this place?” Kara asked her, marveling at the fact that it hadn’t just come out of a bottle in the fridge, despite Jess’ desk not being that large.

“Oh, I’d say… very,” Jess said in response. “Miss Luthor had all the staff facilities overhauled and updated when she took over. She made a great deal of change in everyone’s favour. As well as everything else she did, she added several nurseries and pays for all the care the kids may need if their parents get caught short on childcare.”

Kara was impressed. “Wow, that’s pretty generous.”

“Mmhmm, she’s very fair, learns everyone’s names. The staff appreciate her very much, Miss Danvers,” Jess said, narrowing her eyes slightly at Kara, and Kara nodded, taking it as the gentle warning that it was. It was nice, she thought, that her staff liked their boss. It was yet another thing that seemed to be completely at odds with what the general public thought of the Luthors as a whole, Lena in particular. Kara got the feeling that these details were not known to the general public, and she couldn’t help but think that if they were, the public may be more well-disposed towards her.

“Oh, and Miss Danvers?”

She looked up. “Yes?”

“The donuts on the table. They’re for you.”

She looked down at the table, and sure enough, there was a pile of what looked like very expensive donuts on a plate. Picking one up, she bit into it and moaned quietly as the sweet flavours burst in her mouth. These weren’t just donuts. They were artisanal donuts, definitely. She hadn’t even known such a thing existed before this very moment and cursed her ignorance as she enjoyed them.

Kara ate and carefully flipped through the magazines on the table again. This month they were fresh copies of the latest science journals, the contents of which went straight over Kara’s head. Tilting one of the diagrams, she did think she recognized the core of an old nuclear power plant, thanks to a documentary on the Chernobyl disaster that she’d watched a few months ago, but otherwise, the rest of it was very obviously meant for people with multiple degrees in STEM subjects or business magnates.

One of those people stepped out of the silent elevator just as Kara was putting the journal back down. Lena shot her a smile and picked up the plate of donuts as she walked towards Jess’ desk. “Hi, Jess. Please see that we aren’t disturbed for the next hour or so.” Jess nodded, and Kara got up to follow Lena into her office.

Lena was wearing tailored black slacks today, a pristine white shirt tucked into the slacks, and impossibly high heels once again. A long high ponytail swung behind her as she walked over to her desk. It occurred to Kara that Lena wore her wealth very subtly. Her jewellery was simple, but expensive, and on her right wrist she wore a complicated-looking watch that looked like it had functions far beyond what a normal watch would be able to do. She could tell just from her clothes that everything she was wearing cost more than six months-worth of her rent.

Lena settled into her chair, her green eyes looking up at Kara as if she expected something. She looked around herself to see what that could be, and realized she was still standing by the door. Lena was probably wondering whether she was about to bolt from the office for some reason.

“Oh!” Kara exclaimed, heading towards the chair in front of Lena’s desk. “Sorry, I was distracted by the, um, view from your balcony.”

The look on Lena’s face said that she didn’t believe that for a second, but she let it slide. Thank goodness.

“Anyway,” she said, drawing the last letter out, settling into the same seat as last time and pretending that the last minute didn’t happen, “hello!”

Lena’s lips twitched as if she was trying to hold back a smile. “Hello, Kara.”

“I hope you’re well?” She cringed at her sudden formality. She sounded like she was starting an email.

This time, Lena’s smile broke through like sunshine on a cloudy day. “I’m fine, thank you for asking, Kara. How are you?”

“Oh, I’m great, thank you! Thank you so much for the donuts, they’re absolutely delicious!” Lena smiled, her eyes sparkling. “The weekend is nearly upon us and I have so many plans to do nothing. I can’t wait.”

“It’s alright for some,” Lena remarked, helping herself to a donut and swinging slightly in her chair as she ate it. It was a little childish, and Kara found it charming.

“You’re not going to be relaxing?”

“Definitely not. I’ve got a project that is almost at fruition, so I’m going to be working hard at it for the whole weekend.”

“You sound excited at the prospect of working all weekend, Lena,” Kara said, tutting a little as she did so.

“You’ll understand, once you learn what the project is.”

“Do I get any hints?” Kara asked with a smile.

Lena raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “You’ll be among the first to know, actually. If you want to be. I was hoping that I could invite you to the press conference, when that happens, hopefully next month.”

Kara was stunned, and slumped back in her seat. “Wow, Lena. Are you sure? I mean, we’ve only done one interview. I could be really awful at this coming one and then you’d end up regretting it.”

Lena’s face softened. “I really don’t think I’ll regret it. And speaking of this one today, did your boss tell you anything about it?”

She made a face. “No, actually. He said that the details hadn’t been passed across.”

“He’s right,” and for the first time since they’d known each other, Lena looked slightly distressed, even though she tried valiantly to hide it. “I mentioned at the gallery opening that my PR manager thought your previous article had done some good with my public image?” Kara nodded. “She’s of the opinion that we could take that a step further and do an interview that’s about… well, that’s about me, actually.”

Kara was confused. “But, the last one was about you.”

Lena looked pained at the thought of what she was about to say next. “I mean, this one that we’re going to do today, it’ll be about _me_. Personally, not professionally. My likes and dislikes, my hobbies, tv shows I like to watch, et cetera.”

“_Oh._”

“Yeah, oh. I’m sure that I don’t need to say how uncomfortable I am with this. I’ve always kept myself very private. I’m sure you’ve seen by my professional Instagram page that there’s not much in there that someone could use to say much about me,” Kara felt a slight blush rising up the back of her neck, “but my PR manager feels that it would be a good idea for me to seem more… approachable. Less closed-off,” she said doubtfully. “And I thought of you.”

“And, why did you think of me?”

Lena smiled, fragile hope in her eyes. “We got on quite well last time. You’re very… sunny. I thought you’d be the perfect person to pull this kind of useless information out of me and somehow make it readable.”

She didn’t say it, but Kara thought that this kind of information was exactly what she wanted to know about Lena herself, and she was happy to be given a good excuse to ask about all of it.

“Let’s do this, then!” Kara stated firmly, returning Lena’s smile. The dark-haired woman looked grateful. “I didn’t exactly come prepared for this,” she said as she set the recorder up on the table. Before she turned it on, she looked into the nervous green eyes that were gazing at her. “Is there anything you’d prefer be off-limits?”

Lena looked thoughtful for a second. “Hmm. I don’t think this is the right time to discuss my family relationships. Or my, uh, dating life.” For some reason, Lena blushed a little at that. Kara wondered why, but nodded her assent.

“Okay. I won’t ask about either of those topics. If I do ask something you don’t want to answer, just flip this switch here,” Kara showed Lena the off-switch on the recorder, “and the interview stops, okay? I can see you already look like I’m about to pull your teeth out without anesthetic and I don’t want to make it worse. I’ll start with easy stuff.”

Lena nodded, looking resigned. “Alright.”

“Great! Would you rather have ten hands with only one finger on each, or ten feet with ten toes each?” Lena’s face crinkled in a sort of horrified confusion, before she caught sight of Kara’s laughing face. “I haven’t turned it on yet.”

“Oh, _Kara_,” Lena sighed exasperatedly, shaking her head, but it had the right effect; Lena was smiling properly now. She flipped the recorder on so that Lena could see.

“Okay! Of all the places you’ve been in the world, which was your favourite?”

* * * * *

Later that night, as Kara was writing up the first draft of her article and listening back to the interview, she could tell that as the time went on, Lena became more and more relaxed. She could actually hear the tension bleed out of her voice and as Kara had been watching her, her shoulders had relaxed, and she’d started to smile and laugh more as she got into answering questions about herself. It was almost like a really intense first date, and Kara had learnt a lot about the person that Lena Luthor was, behind the name.

She wasn’t sure about Lena, who of course had been the one revealing details of her life to an almost-stranger, but speaking for herself, Kara had thoroughly enjoyed the interview. It just felt so _easy_ to talk to Lena. At no point did she have to scramble for questions, having decided to just play it as if she’d met Lena somewhere social and have a chat rather than making it feel like some kind of interrogation. The feeling that she and Lena could be friends someday had only grown stronger. Or perhaps, they already were? She hoped, at least, that they were well on their way to becoming friends.

As for the details that Kara had discovered about the young CEO? Lena loved photography, which explained her presence at the art gallery. She had some very expensive equipment that she took to remote locations and countries, and spent hours perfecting shots that nobody but her would ever see. She loved to watch science-fiction and fantasy tv shows, read horror books, and preferred Tolstoy to Dostoevsky. Her favourite countries in the world were Ireland and France, and if she hadn’t been a very natural scientist, she would’ve been a historian, burying herself in libraries and old documents. She loved dogs, rock music, candles scented like various fruits, plumeria flowers, and Mario Kart.

Kara smiled as she listened to a story about when Lena had been abroad in Greece and a tourist had asked her for directions, except the tourist spoke none of the eight (eight!) languages that Lena spoke fluently. Lena had eventually had to take the tourist where she wanted to go herself, with the tourist attempting to read a map that was in English and shouting out directions in what Lena had thought was a very local Peruvian language, as well as madly waving her arms around, as they bumped their way down dusty backroads over and over again in Kefalonia in an ancient old car.

The overall impression that Kara got from Lena was that she was, as she had said to Lena during their first interview, nice. She was impressive, intelligent, beautiful, yes, but from what she had learnt from Jess and from the personal interview that she’d just conducted, Lena seemed like a genuinely pleasant person. She was open, engaging, kind, and thoughtful. She fiddled with her fingers when she was anxious or upset, and played with the ends of her hair. She genuinely cared about a lot of social issues, donating huge sums of money to orphanages, hospitals, LGBT+ and human rights charities, adoption and foster services, healthcare research, and funded countless college scholarships.

Lena Luthor _cared_. And Kara was going to make sure that the world knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that met with your approval :) I'd love to hear your thoughts, and, thank you for reading <3


	4. March

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :) I hope you're all having a lovely Sunday :)

The article that Kara had written about Lena Luthor, the Woman Behind the Name, had gone down a storm both critically and on social media. It was easily more popular than her first article about Lena, and she’d gained several hundred new followers on her professional Twitter account since it had been published on the last day of February. Snapper Carr was so pleased about it that he didn’t have a single correction to make, which Kara counted as one giant green tick on her reporter’s record. He was also very happy that she’d secured verbal confirmation of a place at the press conference whenever Lena announced whatever it was that she’d been spending so much time working on.

The article had featured a lovely photo of Lena from some kind of hospital launch where she’d been grinning in a way most people had never seen her do. After they’d concluded the verbal interview, Kara had asked Lena whether she had any photos of her which didn’t look staged. Lena had looked thoughtful, and promised to send over some photos from her private albums so that Kara could choose one or two. Every photo Lena sent to her work email was beautiful, but there was something about that hospital launch picture… Kara knew it was the one.

The day after the latest issue of CatCo had been released, it wasn’t just Kara’s desk that was covered in flowers. Her entire office, including the filing cabinets, the small sofa she had, even the floor, was absolutely carpeted and overflowing with all kinds of flowers, featuring just about every color of the rainbow and every color in between. Kara had picked her way carefully across her floor towards her desk, and lifted the flowers from her chair into her lap.

This time, the card, which had taken some real searching to find, had read, _You made me sound like a real human being instead of a corporate robot. I don’t know how to thank you :) L x_

Aside from sending a private message on Instagram, Kara didn’t know how to express her thanks to Lena for the flowers; she didn’t have her number to give her a call, and a bland message on Instagram didn’t seem right for a woman like Lena. No, instead, Kara had thought and thought, and finally decided to paint her something and have it sent to Lena’s office.

Two nights later, on Saturday morning, Kara had bought some fresh paints and set up her easel in the corner of her lounge area of her apartment. She decided to paint a picture of the Greek tourist adventure, and she tried to make it as humorous as possible. She added details that she knew about Lena, like painting a pile of horror books bouncing around the back seat, little maps on the ceiling of the car, and googled phrases in each of the eight languages that Lena spoke, placing them in speech bubbles around her head as the tourist waved her arms around.

When she was finished, she sat back in her seat and looked at it with a critical eye. It certainly wasn’t a masterpiece, and it definitely wouldn’t end up in an art gallery somewhere, but it was funny, and it was for Lena, and so, it was perfect. She wrote out a thank-you card for the flowers, and attached it to the back of the painting. On the following Monday, when it had fully dried, she wrapped and boxed it up, carried it to the nearest couriers office, and paid them to take it to L-Corp straight away.

She had no idea how it was going to be received at the other end, but Kara loved to think of personal gifts for people, and it made her smile to think of a painting of one of Lena’s favorite memories going out into the world, towards the subject of it. She was pretty sure that Lena owned nothing like this.

* * * * *

When Kara next logged on to Instagram, she was glad that she’d made her account private. Lena had posted a photo of her painting on her professional Instagram with the caption _<3_, and although she hadn’t tagged Kara in it, someone somewhere had put two and two together and come up with the right number, and her follow requests had exploded. She exited out of Instagram and put her phone down on the table, before she smiled.

Lena had liked the painting. Liked it so much, in fact, that she’d put it on her professional Instagram page for the whole world to see, if they happened to be looking. It was probably the most exposure any of her paintings had ever had, even though she wasn’t tagged in it, which was quite exciting. However, what made her feel the warmest was that… Lena liked it. She walked over to her sofa and flopped backwards on it with her arms behind her head, grinning happily.

* * * * *

For the next couple of weeks, the weather was a little blustery. She didn’t leave her apartment without a warm coat wrapped around her, and the rain that pelted down some of the days meant that she left her laptop at work rather than taking it home. At some points, she wondered whether it might be a better idea for her to simply purchase a second laptop just so that she didn’t have to keep carting it back and forth. But then she vetoed the idea. The weather in National City was usually pretty nice year-round aside from in the dead of winter, so it seemed extravagant.

She wondered how many laptops and computers Lena Luthor owned.

Since the beginning of the year, Kara had been on the lookout for GreenLeaves at every opportunity she had. Every gallery opening she’d gone to, every upscale market she went to, she was looking out for her. The only thing she had to go off was that she’d said she always had to attend the gala, so she just had to assume the woman was fairly rich if she had to make yearly donations. Finding a rich Irishwoman in National City though, was proving to be extremely difficult. For one, Kara didn’t really frequent the kind of places she supposed a rich Irishwoman might spend her time. Not that she really had a clue what that kind of person might do with their time.

The kiss and the short time they’d spent together though, haunted her dreams. The dark-haired woman crossed her mind several times a day, and she dreamed about the kiss at least a few times a week. She figured it had really done a number on her consciousness. She often woke up from those dreams flushed in the face. Whenever she saw a picture of falling leaves, GreenLeaves crossed her mind again. She wasn’t sure she’d ever shared a kiss like that with anyone. Kara was jealous of anyone who got to kiss the brunette like that regularly.

By now, Alex had taken to playing what sounded like a medieval version of Greensleeves on her phone every time Kara came into her apartment, which was getting really old. She knew that there was no way she was going to be able to stop her from doing it, though. Alex was enjoying the joke far too much. Maggie enjoyed it about as much as Kara did.

“You really need to give that woman a different nickname,” Maggie grumbled, the fourteenth time this happened.

“Oh, trust me, I know,” Kara replied, rolling her eyes. “It’s a pity that Alex has decided to enjoy it now that everyone else is sick of it.”

“I wonder what your girl would think of it, if she knew what you called her?” Alex mused.

“She’ll never know.”

* * * * *

A few days before the end of the month, Snapper Carr called her at night while she was in her pajamas and making herself the most luxurious hot chocolate she could manage. Without any preamble, he launched into what he had to say.

“Hel-”

“Lena Luthor is holding a press conference tomorrow morning at nine in the auditorium of the biology building at NCU. You need to get yourself down there and record whatever she says. She doesn’t often do these kinds of things, and when she does, it’s always something groundbreaking. L-Corp have already sent your press pass to CatCo. I’ll send… shit, someone down to the university with it in the morning. Be there by 8:30am sharp. And make sure you’re in the right place. See if you can get an exclusive with her afterwards, Ponytail.” He hung up without saying anything else.

Kara held her cell out and stared at it for moment as if it was going to start shouting at her. Shaking her head, she put the ringer on in case he called again for something else and set it down on the table.

She poured mini marshmallows all over her hot chocolate and thoughtfully took a sip. What was Lena going to be talking about? What would tomorrow bring?

* * * * *

When she arrived at NCU at exactly 8:15am, she found the place absolutely swarming with anyone even remotely connected to the science world. Everyone was talking excitedly about what the announcement would be about, and nobody seemed to have any idea. It looked like Lena had played her cards very close to her chest, and despite science not being her best subject, she found herself very excited about what Lena was going to say.

At 8:30am, Winn appeared, slightly out of breath, waving the press passes in his hand like they were gold dust. She supposed that in some ways, they were. Winn looked like he was about to pass out with excitement that he had also been given a press pass. She didn’t know what he’d had to say to Carr to have been given the second one, but when he looked as excited as he did, she didn’t have the heart to wonder too much about it and decided to just enjoy his happiness. After a few minutes, he quietly admitted to her that Lena was somewhat of a heroine to him. He’d followed her career for a while and had read all of her papers.

She bought herself a terrible cup of coffee from a stand in the entrance and they milled about reading the news on her cell until 8:45am, when they were all ushered into the auditorium. There was nothing on the stage at all, no podium, no papers, no computer, no table. Kara looked at Winn, who shrugged in response.

Kara wondered where Lena was, and whether she liked or didn’t like public speaking. Kara herself was alright with it, but Lena seemed a lot more reserved than Kara was. It hadn’t actually come up in their most recent interview.

At 9am sharp with no announcements whatsoever, Lena walked out onto the stage. She apparently needed no introduction, trusting that her mere presence and the fact she had an important statement to make would do the job for her. A murmur went around the crowd, which then fell silent, and she heard Winn take a sharp breath next to her. There wasn’t any need to wonder what was causing everyone to suddenly start talking. Lena was carrying a rather large, and very sharp, scalpel in her hand.

Lena’s hair was up in a severe ponytail, and she was wearing a magenta silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and black slacks. There was a tiny mic clipped to her collar. Cameras from somewhere in the auditorium projected her face onto a huge screen behind her. Kara thought that Lena looked a little bit green with trepidation, but when she stood at the front of the stage and started to speak, her voice was strong and didn’t waver.

“Over the course of the last two hundred years, but particularly in the last several decades, medical miracles such as vaccines, anesthesia, and antibiotics revolutionized the medical world. No longer would patients have to die from preventable diseases, be held down and made to bite down on something while someone sawed their leg off while they were still awake, or die from easily-treated infections. Physics, biochemistry, and robotics have furthered the development of newer, safer ways of performing surgery. Today, however, I am going to show you how L-Corp will propel us into the next stage of medical history.”

Lena looked out into the crowd, the look on her face saying that she was certain she had everyone’s full attention. The audience was utterly silent. For a moment, her eyes landed on Kara, and her eyes softened for a second, before she looked to her right.

“This is my assistant, Jess.” The familiar woman walked out onto the stage, holding what looked like a small, round box and a towel of some sort. She looked infinitely more nervous than Lena did. She nodded at Lena, who turned to face the crowd again.

Lena held up the scalpel, turning it so that there could be no doubt as to its sharpness. You could’ve heard a pin drop in the auditorium. Without a flicker of emotion, Lena held her left hand out and sliced her palm clean open with the scalpel. The audience, as one, gasped and began chattering in hushed voices. Kara leaned forward in her seat, slightly sickened by the blood blooming out of the deep slice in Lena’s palm, magnified on the screen behind her as the cameras zoomed in on it in all its gory detail.

Jess opened the box that she held in her hands. What looked like a tiny swarm of large silvery dust particles flew out of it and towards Lena, who held her bloody hand out so that the cameras could easily pick up what was about to happen. The particles landed on her palm, obscuring it for a few seconds, before they flew back into the box. Jess closed it, and tossed her boss a damp towel. Lena wiped her hand carefully with it while the audience watched with rapt attention.

Finally, Lena held up her hand to the camera. It was pristine. No hint of any kind of cut, no blood, no injury. It was as if the particles had completely healed her.

Kara glanced at Winn, who looked back at her with an expression that she knew mirrored her own. They were both slack-jawed at what they had just seen.

“What you have just witnessed,” Lena spoke into the silence, “is the next stage in emergency surgery, in hospitals as well as in the field. No longer will we need to rely on combating ever more resistant bacteria with antibiotics. No longer will we have to worry about complications that arise from going under anesthesia. I and my colleagues at L-Corp have been developing these tiny nanobots for nearly the last decade, following on from research that has been conducted by scientists before us. We have tested extensively for years, and have achieved a 99.4% success rate where the nanobots have been applied in an appropriate time relative to the wound. I needn’t have to exaggerate the number of lives that could be saved using these. L-Corp is proud to announce that the NanoMax medical program will be launched across National City within days, with the approval of the FDA and the American Medical Association.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“I will now be taking questions.”

The stupefied silence continued for a few more seconds, before the auditorium burst into applause and cheers. Up on the stage, Lena’s impeccable professional mask finally dropped with a relieved smile as someone shouted out a question.

“Tom Johnson from National City News. Is this just going to benefit the rich, or will the poor have access to this as well?”

“An excellent question, Mr. Johnson. They will be strictly regulated, of course, for legal and safety reasons, but L-Corp will be providing the NanoMax to every hospital in National City. Every ambulance will carry them. They will be available in every ER across the city. They will be most useful in emergency medicine, and in surgery for wound closure. Each and every use of the NanoMax will be strictly monitored and recorded. If they work well here, we’ll be spreading them to the state. And further. L-Corp wants to make sure that everyone has access to the health services that they deserve. I want to make this very clear. L-Corp will be providing this technology to National City without expectation of remuneration.”

A storm of questions followed this, and Kara settled in to record all of them.

* * * * *

When Kara tried to reach Lena after she’d left the stage to tell her… something, anything (what could one possibly say after a display and breakthrough like that?), a security guard who was even larger than Chip, if that was possible, tried to stop her. She could see Lena talking to a tall gentleman with dark hair not too far in front of her, but the security guard was intent on stopping her.

“Lena!” she eventually called, and the brunette looked up in the direction of her shout, before holding up a hand to the man she was talking to and heading towards Kara.

“It’s okay, Steve,” she said to the security guard, who gave her a swift nod and stepped aside. Kara followed Lena back towards the tall man she’d been standing with, but well before they came close to him, she reached out and stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm.

“Lena,” she said, more quietly, when Lena had turned to look at her questioningly. Kara looked down and, pushing past the professional boundaries they had danced around, picked up Lena’s left hand (soft, so soft) with both of hers. She brought it closer to her face, spreading Lena’s delicate fingers apart, examining it for any hint of an injury while Lena leaned over her palm too. Kara could hear her slightly unsteady breathing, and they were close enough to each other that Kara could smell Lena’s shampoo, a clean, citrus scent. The air felt heavy around them, as if they were existing in a bubble just their own, as Kara looked Lena’s hand over. “Does it hurt?” she murmured.

“No,” Lena said, in a voice as quiet as Kara’s.

She couldn’t believe it. The skin was unblemished, there wasn’t even the slightest cut. Finally, she ran her thumb across Lena’s palm, feeling Lena shiver (was Lena ticklish?) as she did so, but felt no healing ridges. Her skin was smooth, as if nothing had happened to it at all. She looked up at Lena’s face, and found her slightly flushed. She felt Lena’s hand gently close over one of hers, and Kara didn’t let go.

“You did it,” Kara breathed, as Lena watched her, an almost shy look in her eyes. “You’re amazing. You really did _that_!” Lena wasn’t able to stop the smile from spreading across her face, bringing her dimples out and causing her eyes to crinkle. She started to laugh, then, and Kara didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone so beautiful as Lena did right then, her eyes shining with exhilaration from her achievement; she could practically feel Lena’s entire body vibrating.

Lena stepped from foot to foot, as if the adrenaline flowing through her system was fighting to get out somehow, and Kara really couldn’t help it. She threw her arms around Lena, one over her shoulder and one around her back. Lena stiffened for a second, as if she wasn’t used to something so exuberant as a hug, before she returned it just as tightly, squeezing Kara before letting go and holding both of her hands in hers.

For a second, they just gazed at each other, before the high Lena was on made itself known again and she started to laugh, her face full of joy. “I can’t believe it! I mean, of course I can, the science was sound, but I can’t believe it’s finally out there! My colleagues and I have been working on this for so long and I was so nervous about getting up there and finally showing everyone what we’ve done. And I really hope that this will make a difference-”

“Are you kidding? It’ll make all the difference in the world to _so many_ people, Lena!”

Lena’s proud smile lit Kara’s whole world up; she looked so radiant that Kara couldn’t take her eyes off her. She just stood there, feeling warm with her hands encased in Lena’s, just wanting to be near her, to have Lena’s bright eyes on her, to share this moment with her. After what felt like minutes, but was really only seconds, Lena gently cleared her throat and looked over her shoulder, beckoning the man she’d been standing with earlier, who came over with a polite smile on his face.

“Kara, this is Jack Spheer. Jack, this is Kara Danvers.”

Jack held his hand out for Kara to shake. “Ah, you’re the one who wrote all the lovely things about Lena here,” he said in an English accent, his dark eyes kind.

“That’s me,” Kara said brightly.

“Kara, Jack is an old friend of mine-” Kara caught the different intonation on the word _friend_ with a slight lurch of her stomach that she couldn’t explain “-and the CEO of Spheerical Industries. He and I worked together on NanoMax until he decided to form his own company. Half of what NanoMax is belongs to him.”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Lena,” Jack stated firmly. “It was your determination to continue the research after I left that means the technology has gone live today.”

Lena shot him a smile. “Jack was in town for the launch. We’re going to head out for dinner later to celebrate and catch up before he flies out tomorrow morning. But Kara, I wanted to ask you… sorry, Jack,” she said, turning towards him, “could you excuse us for a second?”

Jack nodded graciously. “Of course, no problem. It was nice to meet you, Kara. Thank you for the articles. They both meant a great deal to Lena.”

When Jack had wandered off to speak to someone else, Lena pulled Kara aside out of the flow of foot traffic. “Kara, I realise that this could be considered unprofessional or… favoritism in some way, I suppose, but could I get your number? Correct me if I’m wrong, but we seem to get along quite well and, well, most people wouldn’t touch a Luthor with a ten-foot pole. I feel like you’re my… friend. My only friend here in National City, in fact, and I’d like to have some way to contact you that doesn’t involve scheduling interviews or medical breakthroughs.” Her voice was a little unsure and ever so slightly self-deprecating, as if she thought that Kara might refuse. As if she half-expected her to.

“Of course, Lena! Here,” she fished her cell out of her bag and opened her contacts, typing Lena into the name section and holding it out to Lena. “Put your number in there, and then I’ll send you mine.” Lena did so, before handing her cell back. Kara typed out a quick hello and added a string of emojis to the message, and sent it. “There. Now you’re stuck with me.”

Lena gave her a dazzling smile. “I was hoping that would be the case,” she said, giving Kara’s hand a squeeze. “There are several people here that I need to speak to about the NanoMax, but I’ll send you some exclusive quotes for your article to your work email address. And,” she said, sounding eager, “let’s set up lunch? Sometime soon?”

Kara’s heart leapt. There was nothing she wanted much more than spending some more time with someone who she thought was endlessly interesting. _And beautiful_, her treacherous mind added, before she brushed that thought away. “Definitely!”

“Oh, and Kara?” Lena said, before she moved closer and gave her a close, but gentle, hug, enveloping Kara in the scent of her perfume. She spoke softly into Kara’s ear, the intimate moment causing Kara to blush. “I loved the painting. Nobody’s ever done something like that for me before. It meant so much more than you know.”

Kara nodded against Lena’s shoulder. “You’re welcome, Lena.” She stepped back. “Go meet your adoring crowd, and have a great day, okay?”

Kara walked on air for the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! :D <3


	5. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena start to get to know each other outside of work, and Kara and Alex have a little chat.

April dawned on a Sunday morning accompanied by possibly the worst hangover Kara had ever had in her life. Why did she drink so much last night? Curse Maggie for having a birthday. Her eyes felt like sandpaper, her head was pounding, and she was the only still thing in a room that was spinning out of control. And there was an insistent buzzing like an entire hive of bees was at home under her pillow. Blindly, she groped underneath it and hoped she wouldn’t get stung too many times.

Pulling out her cell instead of the honey she’d expected, Kara blearily peered at her sister’s name on the screen. She swiped to answer the call and groaned into the speaker.

_“Kara!”_ Alex shouted down the line, clearly using a megaphone. Kara yanked her phone away from her face in a drunken manoeuvre that nearly sent her sprawling to the floor as she overbalanced on the edge of her bed. Once she was steady again, she looked back at her cell. Oh no, she’d accidentally put it on speakerphone somehow. Alex wasn’t using a megaphone. How stupid. Her stomach rolled unpleasantly.

_“Kara?”_ Alex said again.

“Wha?”

_“I’ve found her.”_

“Who?” Kara asked. She was too hungover, and possibly still drunk, for this.

_“GreenLeaves!”_

“Nnnno, really?” Kara slurred, hope jumping through her stomach.

_“Nope! April Fool’s!”_ Alex shouted gleefully, her outburst followed by cackling.

“Mean,” Kara snarked. Oh. That wasn’t hope jumping through her stomach at all. That was… that was…

Kara hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth and sprinted for the bathroom, barely making it in time as she crashed to the tiled floor on her knees next to the toilet.

_“Oh _gross_, Kara!”_ Alex’s tinny voice burst out through her cell, that had thankfully landed somewhere _near_ the toilet bowl and not _in_ it.

Later, as Kara was lying on her sofa with all the curtains closed and an ice pack on her forehead, she privately thought that Alex had deserved it. Revenge was sweet.

* * * * *

After the article about the NanoMax had come out in the latest issue of CatCo, Lena hadn’t sent flowers. No, this time when Kara had arrived at work on Monday morning, it was to discover that this time she’d sent an absolutely enormous box of the delicious artisanal donuts that they’d had at the second interview, even though technically this time, Kara hadn’t done anything other than report the conference and add the exclusive quotes that Lena had emailed her the day after.

All the same, she thought, munching through the most heavenly donuts she’d ever had the good luck to encounter in her life, that didn’t seem to matter that much. Kara wasn’t about to turn down these donuts for anything, except perhaps another kiss with GreenLeaves, maybe. Or free potstickers for a year from her favourite Chinese takeout.

Okay, she’d sell her soul for these donuts and that was that.

Picking up her cell, she opened her messaging app and pulled up Lena’s name.

**Kara:** _Thank you for the donuts!!! They are DIVIIIIINE!! :D_

Lena must have been looking at her cell as well, because she replied immediately.

**Lena:** _ You’re welcome, I’m glad you like them :)_

**Kara:** _ Where do you get these little pieces of heaven? I need to set up a weekly or possibly daily subscription_

**Lena:** _ That would be telling! But I’ll pass along your compliments to the baker ;)_

Kara smiled happily at her cell while she chewed on the current donut, which was a soft, filled donut sprinkled liberally with sugar. The filling was easily identifiable as freshly whipped full cream with mashed fresh strawberries. There was not a hint of anything artificial at all in any of the donuts she’d tried so far. All of the fillings were made from fresh ingredients.

**Kara:** _ They’re better than any other donuts ever. They’re seriously unreal. What I thought was unreal, now for me seems in some ways to be more real than what I think to be real, which seems now more to be unreal. In terms of donuts anyway._

**Lena:** _ Did you just quote Fred Alan Wolf?_

**Kara:** _ Maybe…_

**Lena:** _There’s more to you than meets the eye, Miss Danvers :)_

Kara wasn’t going to admit that she googled philosophical quotes using the word unreal any time soon, and basked in the glow of Lena’s compliment instead.

* * * * *

A week into April, Kara and Lena met outside of official business for the first time. Kara was quite surprised to walk into the cosy coffee bookshop she’d recommended to see Lena sitting at a table near the back, two large piles of books on the table, legs tucked underneath her, and a heavy looking book open in her lap. The surprising thing for Kara wasn’t that Lena was surrounded by books, but more that she was alone without a security guard in sight.

She’d never seen Lena without being escorted to her office by security, let through by security, or without having to pass through security to get to wherever she was. Seeing her sitting there alone amongst her books was a little bit surreal.

Kara had no idea what coffee Lena liked to drink, so before going to get their order, she decided to plop herself down in the armchair opposite her and ask her. So, she did.

Lena had clearly been in her own little world, because she startled quite a bit when Kara noisily sat down and clutched her book to her chest. _A People’s Tragedy_ by Orlando Figes, Kara read.

“Kara, hi!” Lena said, her voice a little breathless. “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” Kara smiled. “I’m glad you didn’t throw that book at me in fright. It could’ve taken my head off!”

Lena’s eyes were still slightly wide behind her reading glasses, but she smiled warmly. “I enjoy learning about world history.”

“No kidding, that’s a door stop of a book. Anyway! I noticed you didn’t have a drink yet and I didn’t want to get something you didn’t like. What’s your poison?”

“Actually… hot chocolate would be lovely. Something about being in a bookshop makes me want something snuggly and comforting,” Lena said, looking slightly embarrassed about her drink choice, but settling further into her armchair regardless.

Kara nodded, and headed over to the counter. As she waited, she looked back over at Lena. She’d never seen her dressed so casually. Her hair was down, but it was neither straight nor waved; it looked like she’d left it to dry naturally, thick and soft. She was wearing an unadorned deep green sweater over black jeans, and those reading glasses perched on her nose as she flipped through the pages of the book on her lap were really cute.

Almost as if she was aware she was being watched, Lena looked up and caught her staring. Kara flushed and waved, hoping to cover herself. Lena gave her a dubious wave back, but didn’t go back to reading her book. Kara mimed eating a cake, and Lena smiled, shrugging.

Well, that didn’t help at all, since she didn’t have a clue what kind of cake Lena liked any more than she knew about her coffee tastes. She ordered two large hot chocolates with all the trimmings, extra marshmallows on the side, a slice of chocolate fudge cake, a raspberry cheesecake, and a slice of lemon drizzle cake, thinking that at least one of them had to be acceptable. It wasn’t like any of them would be wasted with Kara around, anyway, and Lena already knew about her penchant for sweet treats because of the donuts.

The cheery assistant, Kassandra, assured her that she’d bring the treats over to them as soon as their hot chocolates were ready, and Kara thanked her before returning to her seat.

When she’d sat back down, Lena carefully placed the Russian history book she’d been reading on top of one of piles next to her. A slightly creepy-looking book topped the second pile, entitled _the Historian_, by someone called Elizabeth Kostova. “This might be a stupid question, but what’s it about?” Kara asked, pointing at it.

“Oh, it’s a story about a girl and her father looking for the missing mother by chasing Dracula through the decades. They research him through historical documents and maps through Eastern Europe. It’s a wonderful book, but I seem to have misplaced my copy in my move to National City… so I thought I’d get myself a new one.”

“It doesn’t sound like a very cheery story, Lena,” Kara said, teasing her a little. “Wait, you’re going to buy _all_ these books? There must be at least fifteen or twenty here!”

Lena gave her a sidelong glance. “It’s not a cheery story, really, but it’s worth it,” she replied with a smile. “And, yes. I need to fill up my bookshelves.”

“Fair enough. So, hello Lena Luthor,” Kara said, easily. Lena waggled her fingers at her in another little wave. “It’s nice to see you without your usual bodyguards. Are they hiding in the books somewhere?” Kara made a show of looking around dramatically.

Lena let out a quiet laugh. “Did you really think I went around my whole life surrounded by bodyguards? I’m allowed out of my cell every now and again, you know.”

Just then, Kassandra brought over their drinks and their treats. “Thank you,” they chorused at her.

“Three desserts, Kara?” Lena shot her an amused glance as she picked up a fork, choosing the cheesecake. Kara pulled the chocolate fudge cake towards herself and waved her fork at Lena, urging her to continue what she’d been saying, before digging into the cake.

Lena leaned back in her chair. “I have security at L-Corp because I have a lot of sensitive documentation and tech in my office and in the lab on my floor. You’ve probably seen the door. It’s two feet thick.” Kara coughed a little on her cake at that. “Yeah, exactly, so the floor is kept confidential unless you have the keycard that gives you access to that floor. Even my security guard doesn’t know exactly which floor it is. And I have all the blueprints for the building.”

“Wow,” Kara breathed out, both impressed and a little more intimidated by the security involved in going to see Lena at her place of work.

“And obviously I had to have it at the conference. I have a driver who takes me where I need to go if it’s too far to walk from my apartment. I do have a car, but I rarely drive myself in National City, unless I’m going on a road trip. Otherwise, though, I guess I’m… pretty low-maintenance?”

At that, Kara laughed. “That’s really good to know.”

Lena sobered a little. “Being a Luthor… it does tend to paint a target on your back. I’m quite aware that there are plenty of people out there who’d like for me to not be in the position I’m in, and I’m sure that I’m digging a huge hole for myself in terms of L-Corp when it comes to Lillian and Lex. I think there’ll be repercussions down the line.”

Kara raised both of her eyebrows as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. “I hope they won’t be serious.”

“So, do I,” Lena said matter-of-factly. “I can’t say it doesn’t bother me, because of course it does. I would’ve really loved to have a normal family with normal problems, but I wasn’t blessed with that.”

Kara wasn’t sure whether pity was something Lena would appreciate, so she leaned forward and put her hand over Lena’s, squeezing gently. “You turned out great though, despite your family.” Lena shot her a grateful look and squeezed her hand right back. “You care a lot about a lot of things, and you make sure to help as much as you can. That’s what good people do. I believe in you, Lena Luthor.”

Lena smiled then, and the ghost of pain in her eyes disappeared. “So, what about you? You know a lot about me already, but I don’t know all that much about you, Kara Danvers,” Lena said, eating another piece of cheesecake. “This is delicious, by the way,” she commented once she’d swallowed.

“Oh? Good. Is this where they make those donuts?” Kara asked, looking around.

Lena’s green eyes were sparkling. “Nope.”

“Ah, shame. Well, I’ll figure it out someday. When it comes to me though, there’s not much to tell. I was adopted by the Danvers when I was thirteen after a car crash killed my parents. My mom’s name is Eliza, and my sister’s name is Alex. We didn’t used to get on at all when I first arrived in their family. She’s a bit older than me and she suddenly got saddled with a strange, sad kid living in her bedroom, but we’re super-close now. I moved here to be nearer to her, actually.”

“I’m sorry about your parents, Kara, but I’m glad that you found a family,” Lena said, sympathy lacing her tone.

“Thanks,” Kara replied, shoveling the last piece of chocolate fudge cake into her mouth and pulling the lemon drizzle cake towards her. “I grew up mostly in Midvale once I was adopted. I got my degree in journalism. Shocker, I know. And then I moved here.”

“Somehow, I don’t think the entirety of the life of Kara Danvers can be summed up in a few sentences,” Lena remarked, settling back against her seat, giving her a wide smile, and _all_ of her attention. “For example. Tell me about your painting.”

Kara grinned and launched into an explanation of everything that painting meant to her, all the art galleries around the world she’d love to visit, and all the things she’d painted over the years. She told her about all of the terrible pieces she’d done in high school, the still life classes she’d taken. She told Lena about the one and only life drawing class she’d attended and never gone back to, covering her face with her hands as she remembered the mortification when the model turned out to be her very old German teacher from high school.

The time passed quickly, sitting in the bookshop with Lena on a wet Saturday afternoon, drinking hot chocolate and learning about each other. Kara thought that she liked this version of Lena the best, this quiet, unassuming, bookish version. She felt a fluttering in her stomach that didn’t have anything to do with all the sugar she’d consumed as she considered how adorable Lena looked in her glasses, talking about books.

* * * * *

As April started to fade, Kara and Lena had met for lunch a few times. They took turns choosing a place if it was on the weekend, and if they were having brunch in the week, they went somewhere near one of their offices. Unfortunately for Kara, all the sugar they’d had in their first meeting turned out to be a fluke. Kara was horrified to find out that Lena seemed to only eat calories masquerading as food if she was in cosy bookshops, as far as Kara could tell.

Everywhere they went, Lena ordered something healthy, and each time, Kara shook her head and tried to cajole her into eating something a little more interesting. She failed every time. Lena ordered chicken salad, no dressing. Kale salad, no croutons. Meat and cheese board, no relish. Eventually, she decided that the way to break the horrendous healthy cycle was to take her to the best Italian restaurant in National City that made _the best_ pizzas during one of their long lunch breaks.

She raved about the pizzas the whole way there in the cab, telling Lena all about the way they made them, and when they sat down, Lena perused the menu with more interest than Kara had seen her do at any other place she’d chosen for them. Kara ordered a huge pizza with essentially every topping that the place had from the very pretty native Italian waitress that had come to the table, smiling a little sheepishly as the waitress raised both her eyebrows in recognition of the challenge. Lena looked astounded that she was going to eat all of that on her own, before she turned to the waitress herself.

“Ravioli al granchio e zafferano per favore, con uni bottiglia di qualunque vino ci stia bene. Due bicchieri, grazie. Non penso che nessun vino vada bene con la pizza, ma lei potrebbe volerne un bicchiere. Grazie mille,” she added, with a smile.

Although she knew Lena spoke multiple languages, actually _hearing_ Lena speaking Italian was… insanely hot, and as much as she tried to banish the thought from her mind, the sound of Lena’s deeper than average voice speaking another language had her suddenly wondering whether her desire to get to know her new friend was as strictly platonic as she had thought it was.

Kara was pretty sure that her jaw was still scraping the table, and when Lena turned back to her after handing their menus to the waitress, she started to laugh. “Their whole menu is excellent, Kara,” she’d explained, either not realizing or not acknowledging the real reason that Kara’s mouth was agape. She covered it quickly with a laugh about Lena’s food choice, once she’d told her in English what it was. Surely, she was lying. Nobody chose _other things_ when they could have some of the pizza in the city instead. Lena had, at least, accepted a small slice of her pizza when it arrived, and declared it delicious as well.

Kara counted that as a semi win, but she’d have to try harder next time. One day, she’d get Lena to order a whole pizza to herself. Bonus points if she ordered it in her seductive Italian language. Kara felt herself blush just thinking of it.

* * * * *

It had taken Alex a little while to come around to Kara’s newfound camaraderie, as she called it, with Lena Luthor. Over coffee after Alex finished work one day, they’d talked about it.

“I just don’t know, Kara,” she said, rolling her reusable coffee cup around in her hands as they sat on the same bench that she’d come out to Kara on. It had become their go-to place to talk about important things. Kara hadn’t realized that her friendship with Lena would be considered under the same banner to Alex, but here they were.

“She’s really not like the rest of her family, Alex,” Kara implored. “I’d even go so far to say she’s even a little bit… shy, I guess, in private. You should’ve seen how nervous she was about the second interview we did.”

“Was that just because she felt like she might lose some dragon lady points with her CEO buddies?”

“Dragon lady? Alex!” Kara chastised her sister. “She’s really not like that. She wants to change her company around for the better. Considering what it had been used for before, I think it’s admirable. And I don’t think she cares too much about what other CEOs think. She told me that she makes more profit and interest than she knows what to do with. It’s good business, I guess, to keep going, but she doesn’t need the money. She funnels a lot of it into really great causes. Something that Lillian and Lex never did. Plus, she’s super-intelligent and uses that to help people.”

“There’s no need to get so defensive Kara,” Alex remarked, giving her the same kind of look that Eliza would give them if they were starting down the path of being sent to their room. Kara realized that her voice had risen, and nodded in acquiescence. “I’m just worried that she’s using you to elevate herself in different ways.”

“The second interview wasn’t her idea, though.”

“But she didn’t refuse to do it,” Alex pointed out.

“She was super-uncomfortable before we started. I had to crack out a seriously awful Would You Rather question just to get her to look like someone wasn’t pulling her toenails out with dirty pliers.”

“That’s a really pleasant image, Kara,” Alex deadpanned.

“My point is that I think she’s just… private. She’s, if not exactly happy to have to carry the weight of her family’s name and all the prejudice that comes with it, then she’s willing to bear it if she can use it to further good causes, that’s all. She doesn’t want her good work to be clouded by her personal life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately about the difference between her and her family, it’s that the Luthor family doesn’t deserve Lena,” Kara urged, aware that she was possibly passing an opinion on Lena Luthor that she may not hold herself. She didn’t think she was too far off base, though.

Alex looked up at her. Really looked at her, perhaps seeing something in Kara’s expression that told her more than Kara had intended to share. “I’ll give her a chance, for you. Just be careful, Kara. I don’t want you to get hurt by her.” Her tone of voice implied that she was worried for Kara in some way.

Kara sighed and took a sip of her own coffee, which was swiftly growing cold. She made a face. “I don’t think I will be, Alex. I know that she and I have only been friends for a few weeks really, but I really don’t think she’d hurt me deliberately somehow. I trust her.”

Kara was absolutely sure of that fact. She didn’t know exactly _why_ she was sure, she thought, as she poured her cold coffee down the nearest drain before putting the cup back in her bag, but she was certain that Lena didn’t have an intentionally mean bone in her whole body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone :) I know this was a bit of a slow chapter, but they're getting to know each other, and there's going to be boatloads of SuperCorp interaction coming up :)
> 
> The Italian that Lena says is, "the ravioli al granchio e zafferano please, as well as a bottle of whichever wine will go best with it. Two glasses, please. I don't think any wine goes well with pizza, but she might like a glass." 
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this story! All your kudos and comments mean so much to me! <3


	6. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena is introduced to everyone :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm sorry that this chapter is late today; I spent six hours travelling without my laptop and so I wasn't able to post until now! Hopefully it will have been worth the wait :)

The first thing that happened when Kara invited Lena over to her apartment for the first time to watch a movie was that she noticed Lena took her shoes off as soon as she came inside the door. Kara didn’t usually bother, and neither did anyone else she knew, but Lena handed Kara a large pastry box before she slipped off her monstrously high heels and placed them gently beside the door, leaving her in bare feet, wiggling her toes.

And, slightly too late, Kara realized that she’d left her windows wide open and her AC on, and so the floor must be absolutely freezing.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Let me get you a pair of socks or something,” she burst out, before dashing off towards her bedroom and pulling out the fluffiest, coziest socks that she owned. Handing them to Lena, she had to suppress a smile when the brunette pulled on the rainbow fluffy socks. They completely clashed with the rest of her outfit (Kara was starting to think that Lena didn’t know the definition of the word casual), but somehow she still rocked the look. Probably because almost everything else she had on today was black and it was the only lick of color aside from her sparkling green eyes as she stood there in her dark coat.

“Thanks, Kara, I love them,” Lena said, looking down at her feet and wiggling her toes, before hanging her bag and coat up on the hooks beside the door. Taking her coat off had revealed that she was wearing a black shirt with dark red flowers embroidered in it. The top few buttons were undone, and a silver necklace with a letter L pendant hung around her neck. It was a good look on her, Kara thought. Simple, but… good. She looked _good_.

As Lena made her way around Kara’s apartment, looking at things interestedly, she was immensely glad that she had tidied the entire place within an inch of its life in preparation for this very scenario. She hadn’t yet seen Lena’s apartment, but she was pretty sure that it wouldn’t be too dissimilar from her office – clean, concise, tidy. She couldn’t imagine Lena being a person who enjoyed clutter, and yet, Lena seemed to love all the small tidbits that Kara had stashed around her place.

“You can go in there, if you want,” she called over to Lena, who was hovering by the backless bookcase she used to separate the living area from her bedroom, clearly halted in her exploration by her sense of propriety. Lena smiled her thanks, and then slipped quickly around the divide and started running her right index finger along the titles that Kara had stacked up on the bedroom side of the case. It didn’t surprise her in the slightest that Lena had made her way to her books. That seemed like such a Lena thing to do. She probably owned several libraries worth of books.

While Lena was flipping through some of her old art books, Kara dragged out one of her DVD folders from behind the tv. When she’d moved in, she’d quickly realized that she had no space to store hundreds of DVD boxes; in an effort to save as much space as she could, she had placed almost all of them in expensive slip-folders, each page holding twelve discs. Aside from knowing Lena liked sci-fi and fantasy, she wasn’t sure what Lena would actually choose to watch, so she hefted it onto the sofa, and went to pour them some wine.

Since their first hot chocolate outing together, Kara and Lena had been in daily contact. There wasn’t a day that went by that they didn’t either text or call each other, and by now Kara was pretty used to calling Lena at half past 11 at night to tell her she had to go home to rest, and hearing Lena’s tired laugh on the other end, promising her that she would get _one last email_ sent and then she’d head off.

They now had lunch together regularly, sometimes going out, but sometimes Kara brought Lena lunch in her office if she was having a particularly busy day or had too many meetings to leave. In a show of trust that Kara appreciated on more than one level, after the first few times she’d shown up with lunch, Lena had instructed her security team to provide Kara with her own security pass for L-Corp, which meant that she could swipe her way up to Lena’s office without needing an escort.

Although she missed Chip in a strange sort of way, his presence was still felt. More often than not, when Kara arrived on Lena’s floor, it was to find some new present from Chip on Jess’ desk. Enormous bunches of flowers, huge boxes of chocolate. Kara sometimes asked Jess how Chip was, causing the other woman to blush and wave Kara into Lena’s office without saying a word, but Kara thought it was sweet and she knew that Jess did too, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

Kara knew that she would never tire of walking into Lena’s office at lunchtime and seeing Lena’s eyes light up when she saw her. Would never tire of the way that Lena got up to give her a swift hug and a kiss on the cheek before they settled onto her sofa with their lunch, their shoes kicked off, and talking about their days so far. She would never tired of the way that, on occasion, Lena would sometimes snuggle her face into Kara’s shoulder when they hugged before she left.

“Kara?” Lena called out from her bedroom.

Kara shook herself out of her reverie. “Yeah?”

“Have you ever been to Italy?”

Kara wandered over to where Lena was perusing her bookshelves. “Hmm? No, I haven’t. Why?”

“You’ve got a lot of books on Italian art here. You should go, someday, to see it all for yourself,” Lena said, carefully placing a large, glossy book about the work of Botticelli back on the shelf. “It’s all very beautiful, especially in Florence. There are so many art galleries.”

“You’ve been?”

“Twice, yes,” Lena said, before giving her bookshelves another once-over and brushing past Kara back into the living room, leaving the subtle scent of her perfume lingering behind her.

“But Ireland and France are your favorite places, right?” Kara asked, watching Lena pick up the pastry box and wine, and settle herself onto the sofa, tucking her legs underneath herself.

“Yeah. I spent a lot of time in Ireland as a child, that’s where I went to boarding school, and there’s just something about France,” she said, her tone quiet and wistful, her mind perhaps filled with past memories. “The south, in particular the Languedoc region. I have a small apartment, in fact, in Carcassonne.”

“That’s really cool, Lena,” Kara said, but her mind was focused on the first part of her comment. “I didn’t know you’d lived in Ireland.”

“I went to boarding school there for nearly ten years,” Lena remarked, picking tenaciously with her short nails at the tape that held the pastry box closed.

“So I guess you can do an Irish accent quite well then,” Kara joked.

“Oh, definitely,” Lena said in a mild Irish accent. “It’s one of my many talents.”

Kara startled at the sound of it, her mind casting around wildly. She was on the edge of understanding something, she knew it.

“Now, here,” Lena said triumphantly, pushing the open pastry box towards Kara. “I thought you’d like some sweet treats for our movie night!”

At the sight of the amazing donuts in front of her, Kara forgot about everything else. “Oh my god, you brought them again! And you still won’t tell me where you got them?” she asked, looking over at Lena, who shook her head, but looked pleased by Kara’s reaction. “You’re a meanie, did anyone ever tell you that?”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “A few CEOs from rival companies,” she laughed.

Kara bit into a donut, shutting her eyes letting out a low moan at the taste of them, and misses the way Lena’s eyes widen.

Three donuts and several blissful moans later, and Kara looks over at Lena, who is determinedly flipping through the DVD folder for something to watch, her cheeks slightly red.

“Are you hot?”

“What?” Lena squeaked, before clearing her throat. “No I- I’m actually a little cold.”

“Oh damn, sorry,” Kara said, feeling mortified. She ran hot and felt fine, but it seemed that Lena didn’t. “Do you want a sweater or a blanket?”

The expression Lena had on her face was sheepish and slightly pleading, her eyebrows furrowed. “Would you be offended if I said both?”

“Oh god, not at all. Hang on.” Kara rushed into her bedroom and flipped through her rack of sweaters. She pulled one out that had been worn soft over the years she’d had it, an old grey hoody from her ice cream parlor days that had threads hanging off it, but was impossibly cosy.

Padding back to the living room, she handed it to Lena, who leaned forward and pulled it over her head immediately, smoothing her staticky loose dark hair back off her face. While Lena got settled back in, Kara rummaged through a cupboard and pulled out a fluffy blanket that she hardly used.

In the meantime, Lena had selected a movie and handed it over to Kara. “_Maverick_, really?” Kara asked, the movie not at all what she thought Lena would choose. “Good choice.” She stuck it into the DVD player, tossed the controls to Lena, and sat back on the sofa next to Lena with the blanket and the pastry box with its diminishing number of donuts.

When she threw the blanket over both of them, she leaned over and tucked Lena in against the armrest, and made herself comfortable on the other side. What she wasn’t expecting was for Lena to shuffle closer and snuggle up against her with a quiet _is this okay?_, all ready for the movie.

It was definitely more than okay, Kara thought to herself. She paused briefly before she wrapped her right arm around Lena’s shoulders and pulled her closer before pressing play, and she didn’t know why, but the contented little sigh that escaped from Lena made her feel warm inside and out.

* * * * *

Kara was at the gala, dressed up to the nines, complete with brand new glitter sunflowers. She must be early, she thought, as she looked around, because there didn’t seem to be anyone else here. There weren’t even any security guards around at the door, waiting to check her invitation. She took another look at it and, yes, it said right there – _Kara Danvers, Mystical Gala, 31st December, 11:50pm_.

Pursing her lips together, she wandered over to the buffet section, to find that the only food they have on offer consists of football-sized donuts. This wouldn’t normally be a problem for Kara, but she has the feeling that she’s here to meet someone, and she doesn’t want to get jam all over her dress.

She glanced at her watch. It was 11:55pm, where on earth was everyone? Kara could’ve sworn that Alex said she was going to be there, along with Maggie, who had rented a tux for the occasion. But her footsteps echoed throughout the venue, and she was still the only one there.

This was going to be the world’s saddest New Year’s party if nobody else showed up. There was music playing, but Kara couldn’t spot the orchestra, band, or the DJ. Or even the DJ stand. This was really weird.

At 11:57pm, Kara had another walk around the venue, but this time, there was someone else there. They had their back to her, but she had the feeling that this was who she was here to meet. She strode towards them with purpose, and as she approached, the other person turned around.

Green painted leaves trickled down her face, and dark hair fell in waves around her shoulders.

“It’s you,” Kara said, wonder in her voice, as she approached.

“It’s me,” the brunette said, holding her hand out. “You came back.”

“Of course I did,” Kara replied, gently taking her hand and placing it at her waist. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Did you think I’d left you?”

The brunette didn’t reply, but smiled up at her. She was shorter, this time, but it made for the perfect height difference as Kara stepped into her space, putting both arms over her shoulders as the brunette slipped both arms around her waist.

They were forehead to forehead as they swayed to the music played by an invisible band. And when the fireworks started outside, Kara raised the brunette’s chin with a finger, and kissed her softly. She pushed her hands into dark hair, feeling the arms around her waist tighten as they kissed.

After a moment, Kara pulled back to find that the green leaves had disappeared from the woman’s makeup, and it was Lena’s beautiful face she saw now, bathed in the dim lights of the gala. Lena lifted her hand and stroked a finger down Kara’s face, and then ran her thumb across her bottom lip. Kara groaned, and touched the pad of Lena’s thumb with her tongue.

Lena’s green eyes darkened as she held Kara’s face in both of her hands.

“I thought you weren’t coming back,” Lena said, sadness in her voice.

“I will never leave you again, Lena,” Kara murmured, leaning down to gently kiss her once more.

* * * * *

Kara didn’t remember her dream when she woke up. She impatiently kicked the sheets off her legs and stood up; she knew that she was on the verge of understanding something really important, and the knowledge that it was slipping through her fingers like sand was extremely frustrating. Lena had been there, she knew. And there was a dress. But every other detail was lost, and by the time she’d ambled over to her coffee machine to start getting ready for her day, even those small details were forgotten.

* * * * *

**Kara:** _ Are you ever going to tell me where you get those donuts?_

**Lena:** _ As a journalist, surely you know that the integrity of your sources needs to be maintained at all times?_

**Kara:** _ But I NEED to KNOW Lena! It’s for science!_

**Lena:** _ What kind of science could you possibly need to do with the donuts? Do you need access to some of L-Corp’s labs?_

**Kara:** _ Lena :(_

**Lena:** _ Yes, darling?_

**Kara:** _ PLEASE TELL ME_

**Lena:** _ Maybe someday :) when you’ve earned it!_

**Kara:** _ LENA_

* * * * *

Towards the end of the month, Lena expressed her interest in wanting to meet Kara’s friends and family, saying that it was about time she got to meet the people behind all the stories that Kara had told her about them. Kara agreed that it would be a fun idea, and thought that bowling would be a good ice breaker. She booked a lane for a few games for the coming Friday night.

Kara swung by L-Corp when she finished work, so that she could make sure that Lena finished work on time. When she reached Jess’ desk, she found she couldn’t see the woman due to the most enormous bunch of sunflowers she’d ever seen in her life.

“Jess?” she called.

Jess popped her head around the sunflowers. “Hello Miss Danvers. Miss Luthor is just finishing up a call from some investors in Tokyo. I’ll let her know that you’re here so that you can head in once she’s done.”

“Great, thanks Jess. So,” Kara said, drawing out the sound. “How’s Chip these days?”

A pretty blush rose up on the other woman’s cheeks. “He’s well, thank you Miss Danvers.”

“He’s pretty sweet on you, huh?”

The blush intensified. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean!”

“She knows exactly what you mean, Kara,” Lena said, surprising them both by coming out of her door with her bag and coat slung over her arm, looking at her cell. “I’ve been telling Chip to get a move on and ask her out, but he seems shyer than a deer.”

Both of them laughed, and Lena looked up. She spotted the sunflowers and smiled at them, before her eyes snapped to Kara’s. And for some reason, her smile seemed to freeze on her face as her expression turned slightly confused, as if she’d put two and two together and come up with 78. Her narrowed eyes flicked back to the sunflowers, and back to Kara, before she shook her head of whatever thoughts were floating around in there and continued towards them.

“Are you okay?” Kara asked her.

“Yeah, I- I think the sunflowers just reminded me of something, I’m not sure what. Anyway, come on Kara. Let’s go find me something suitable to wear for bowling. Have a lovely evening, Jess.”

Lena’s driver took them to her apartment, and since this was the first time she’d been in the building, Lena took her over to the security desk and asked them to give Kara full access. It took fifteen minutes of entering all her information into security’s computer and having her fingerprints and retinal scans done, and by the end, Kara felt a little frazzled. She wasn’t like she was about to storm Area 51 or anything!

Lena saw her rabbit in the headlights expression and was quick to apologise. She told her that it was just because this was the way that Lillian had designed the building, and now that Lillian and Lex were out of her life for the most part, she lived there and hadn’t seen any reason to change the security system. After all, she reasoned to Kara, threading their arms together as they made their way to the elevator (which nobody who didn’t have access could even open, never mind make their way to Lena’s penthouse), she didn’t exactly want Lillian dropping by unannounced.

Testing out the security outside her apartment door, which had no number, Lena showed Kara where the retinal scanner was and she looked into it, feeling like she was breaking into a bank. When the machine beeped, a fingerprint scanner popped out of a compartment underneath it. Kara dutifully scanned her finger, and the door clicked open.

“There,” Lena said, a pleased look on her face when she saw everything had worked. “Now you can come visit me whenever you want!”

Kara smiled at her. “Shall we?”

Lena pushed the door open to reveal her apartment, and called out, “Alexa, play the _Via Veneto_ album.” The machine did so, immediately filling the apartment with some warm jazz music. Lena kicked her heels off at the side of the door and ushered Kara in.

“Make yourself at home, I’m just going to go and change out of these clothes,” Lena tossed over her shoulder, turning a corner somewhere down a hallway and out of Kara’s sight.

As Kara expected, Lena’s apartment was large, clean, and a little bit… empty, she thought, of Lena’s personality, although admittedly she could only see the living area and the kitchen. There was no doubt at all that it was a beautifully-decorated apartment, thick rugs that Kara had to resist digging her toes into, a huge kitchen island with chrome lights hanging above it, and a large fireplace that she could imagine reading in front of. The sofas were huge, and the walls were tastefully decorated with paintings by artists that Kara knew would find a home in the top art galleries in the world. She wondered for a moment where hers was for a moment, before she made her way over to the balcony.

Lena’s apartment was lovely, yes. But almost nowhere in it could she see _Lena_, and the thought made her a little sad. There were no photos on the fridge, none on the walls, and none on any of the surfaces. It was like a show home.

Hearing the sound of footsteps coming from behind her, Kara looked around, and immediately any words that she was about to say died in her throat. Lena was looking more casual than she’d ever seen her. Dark grey jeans, red converse, and a black tshirt that declared her a fan of _the X-Files_ to anyone who cared to look, what with the I Want to Believe slogan and flying saucer plastered across her chest. She’d tied half of her hair up in a messy ponytail and left the rest of it hanging around her shoulders, and she was tucking her cell into one jeans pocket and a black credit card in the other.

Misinterpreting the look on Kara’s face, Lena stopped in her tracks and looked down at herself, frowning, an unsure expression on her face. “Is this not alright? I can go back and-”

“No!” Kara practically shouted, her voice loud in the large apartment, making Lena jump in surprise. “No, you look great, Scully,” she said at a more normal volume, clearing her throat.

“Thanks Mulder,” Lena replied with a laugh as she headed towards the door.

Later, Kara tried to pretend that she hadn’t been almost struck dumb by the sight of Lena’s butt in those tight jeans, but she failed.

* * * * *

Lena made her driver park just around the corner from the bowling alley so that it would look a little less conspicuous when they got out. Before Kara could open the door, Lena stopped her with a warm hand on her arm.

“Is there anything I should know before I meet your friends and Alex?” she asked.

“No, well, Alex is the tall redhead. The shorter one with the dark hair and cheeky attitude is her girlfriend, Maggie. Winn is the one who will be more likely than anyone else to ask you about tech because in his own way he’s as big of a geek as you are. James is the one that makes the rest of us look like hobbits next to Gandalf.”

“Have you ever dated any of them? Aside from Alex obviously.”

Kara spluttered. “No!”

“Good. Are you planning to?”

“Oh god, _no_, Lena!”

“Good. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to put my foot in it somewhere, somehow,” Lena said with a wink, letting go of Kara’s arm and indicating the door.

Kara shook her head as she met Lena’s green eyes, which were shining with mirth and… something else she couldn’t place. She climbed out of the car and turned around to offer Lena a hand. She could have got out her own door on the other side, but she seemed to prefer the idea of sliding across the seat and accepting Kara’s hand.

She didn’t let it go until they reached the entrance, rubbing her thumb once across the back of Kara’s hand before pulling the door open for them both.

They were both assaulted by a cacophony of noise. Rock music played throughout the bowling alley, and before they reached the lanes there was an amusement arcade. They made their way to the desk so they could sign in and get their shoes. They were still earlier than anyone else, and they had fifteen minutes to kill, so Kara challenged Lena to a game of pool while they waited.

Lena’s smile turned mischievous, and Kara swallowed.

She should’ve known, really, that Lena was a pool shark. Kara had barely potted two balls before Lena was leaning over the table, lining up her last shot on the black. It was a very awkward shot, requiring a cushion shot and a course backwards across the table, and Lena took her time making incremental movements across the felt. By this time, they had an audience. Standing behind Lena were Alex, Maggie, James, and Winn, all craning their necks to see whether Lena would make the shot. Kara glanced up at them, and then back down so that Lena wouldn’t suspect anything.

Finally, Lena moved her right hand back and smacked the white. It bounced against the side, hit the black at the correct angle with the right amount of force, and rolled perfectly into the pocket. Lena dropped her cue loudly on the table and blew across her fingernails before wiping them on what would be her lapel in a display of smug victory, raising her eyebrow at Kara as she did so. Kara felt her face heat up and spotted Alex’s knowing look over Lena’s shoulder, before everyone behind Lena burst into cheers.

To her credit, Lena didn’t scream _very_ loud, but her incredible pool display and her willingness to tease Kara about it had gone a long way to breaking the ice between everyone before she had even been introduced to them.

Kara introduced Lena to everyone and watched as she shook their hands and had a smile for everyone. She could tell that Alex had tried to give Lena an unnecessarily tough handshake, but Lena seemed more than equal to the task. Surprise shone on Alex’s face after they dropped hands and she wrapped an arm around Lena’s shoulder.

“Come on then, Lena Luthor. Let’s see what you’ve got in the lanes,” she said, as Kara led them over.

As it turned out, Lena was not, at first at least, very good at bowling. Kara and Alex were average at best, better only than Winn, who seemed embarrassed to be doing so badly in front of Lena, and Kara remembered that he had admitted at the NanoMax press conference that Lena was his heroine. James was far and away more talented at bowling than all of them, with Maggie being a close second.

For her part, Kara watched as Lena seemed to soak in all information like a sponge and approach bowling the same way she apparently did anything else: with resolute and ruthless determination. It struck Kara that it was possible that Lena had never been bowling before. For a few throws, she carefully weighed the ball and experimented with strength of throw. For the next few frames, she was clearly spending her time calculating the best angles to bowl the balls with different strengths. She didn’t seem to mind that she was publicly being seen to be sub-par at something despite her reputation as a genius; Kara could occasionally see other people pointing in her direction and mouthing her name to their friends.

Between throws, everyone chatted as if they’d known each other forever instead of just a few months, or less than an hour when it came to most of them and Lena. As predicted, Winn got Lena talking about some of the technology she was developing at L-Corp, and Alex and Lena discussed various forms of martial arts. Lena was only proficient in Krav Maga, thanks to her Luthor upbringing, but Alex was curious about it and plied her with all kinds of questions.

After the first game, Maggie and Winn went to the bar, getting drinks for all of them. As this wasn’t a classy place, Kara wondered what Lena was going to drink. It turned out that a strong pint of Guinness was her choice.

Maggie handed it to her with a flourish and a terrible Irish accent. “Looks like we’ve found something that Lena Luthor is shit at!” she crowed.

Far from taking offence, for the second time that evening, Lena’s smile was mischievous. Kara held her drink up to her in salute; she was pretty sure that Lena was about to wipe the floor with the lot of them.

She wasn’t wrong.

There wasn’t a single frame in the next game where Lena didn’t either knock down at least eight pins, get a spare, or an out and out strike. Kara and Alex thoroughly enjoyed the gobsmacked look on Maggie’s face as Lena’s score matched, then surpassed hers, at a rate where she couldn’t even hope to catch up. When Lena hit her first strike in the tenth and last frame, Alex gave Kara a high-five, much to Maggie’s outrage.

“You’re meant to be cheering for me!” she cried.

“Sorry babe, but watching you lose at bowling is a once in a lifetime event and I’m going to enjoy it while I can!” Alex called back, sitting back in her chair and crossing her legs.

Lena hit a second strike, and then the third, and as she turned around, even she seemed surprised and slightly embarrassed by how high her score was when she saw everyone else’s slack-jawed faces.

“Jesus fucking Christ Lena,” Alex burst out, causing everyone to start laughing. “We have to find something you’re rubbish at! Come on, we’re going to the arcade.”

The drinks flowed as all six of them had a great time playing every game they could get at. As everyone got slightly more inebriated, their skill at controlling their basketball shots, air hockey vigilance, and aim in the zombie shooting games all decreased.

The funniest moments all came when they challenged each other to the dance-off machines. Lena had no problem jumping up there, handing Kara her cell and asking her to record her battle with James “for my Instagram.” Kara dutifully did so, although she couldn’t imagine this was going on her public account. She made sure to move around and get some video from the front, and everyone cheered at the end when James got a few more points than Lena did.

When it got late, Lena called her driver and asked him to bring her largest car, so that she could make sure to give everyone a lift home rather than them taking the subway or find cabs at this hour. When it arrived, they all piled in. One by one, they were all dropped off home, until it was just Kara and Lena left in the car. Lena gave the driver Kara’s address, and they settled back in their seats as the car pulled out into traffic.

“I had a really great time tonight Kara,” Lena said, her voice warm and slightly thicker thanks to the alcohol they’d all been consuming. She shuffled closer to Kara, clumsily buckled herself into the middle seat, and laid her head on Kara’s shoulder. Kara reached over and took Lena’s hand.

“I’m glad! So did I, and everyone loved you,” Kara replied, “even though you kicked everyone’s ass at bowling. Maggie’s _face_! She was distraught. She hasn’t lost a game that badly in years, apparently. Alex took a photo of the final score so she could pin it up on their fridge. Where did you learn to play pool like that?”

Lena chuckled. “There was a pool table in my dorm in my first university. Tonight was a lot of fun Kara, and I like your friends, and Alex,” she said. “Oh!” She fished her cell out of her pocket and unlocked it, opening the photos app. Together they watched the video of she and James dancing, and by the end of it, Lena opened her private Instagram and uploaded it.

“May I?” Kara asked, indicating Lena’s cell. Lena handed it over without question.

“I keep the follower count low on purpose,” Lena confided, pointing at the number 6. I’ve had very few friends in my life, and even fewer that I would grant access to my photos and videos.” She didn’t sound sad about this fact, but Kara felt it anyway. “I think my friend Sam would get a kick out of this video. She has a daughter called Ruby who is always trying to get me to learn to dance like a modern person whenever I go to visit them. Actually…” Lena hit the search button. “Type your username in there. You’re the only person other than me to have full access to my apartment, so I think you’re allowed to see my Instagram!”

Kara smiled, feeling touched, and keyed her name into it. Lena hit follow, and Kara pulled her own cell out so that she could add Lena back. Her private Instagram name was **@scotch_and_science**, which struck Kara as funny for some reason. She could picture a younger Lena doing experiments under the influence of some expensive scotch.

“There,” Lena sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest and closing her eyes. “Now you’ve got unfettered access to National City’s resident Luthor.”

“No I don’t, Lena,” Kara said, picking the brunette’s hand up again, causing Lena to look over at her, a slight frown on her features. “I’ve got access to my best friend.”

The smile that spread across Lena’s face was absolutely radiant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've all had a lovely day! Thanks so much for visiting this fic and hope to see you at the next chapter! :D <3


	7. June

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara has an idea of somewhere fun to take Lena to make her smile :)

At the beginning of June, Alex and Kara took a trip out to Midvale to stay with their mother for Eliza’s birthday. They stayed out there for a week, taking walks on the nearby beach, and playing board games in the evening. Kara spent some time painting a new family portrait of them based on a photo of them all that Alex had taken one evening, enjoying the sunset across the beach.

Halfway through the week, Maggie had come out bearing gifts, and both Kara and Eliza were pretty sure that Alex was going to propose to her soon, although Alex hadn’t disclosed any information about anything that she may be planning.

Watching them share a piece of cake, Kara was really happy for her sister. It had taken Alex a while to come to terms with her sexuality, and there had been a lot of soul-searching and a great deal of tears before she admitted to herself that it was women she loved, not men. Eliza had been wonderful about it, and had taken to Maggie immediately. Kara herself hadn’t been entirely sure about Maggie to begin with, thinking her a little bit too brash, but she quickly realized that it was just bravado, and that Maggie loved her sister more than anything.

That was really enough for Kara. Love was always enough for Kara, but it was the one thing that seemed to be out of reach for her, personally. She’d dated here and there, always women, never men, but none of them had really stuck. Eliza had no issue with her sexuality, either. It hadn’t taken very long for Kara to realize it about herself, her acceptance of it coming within seconds of realizing that she thought Claire Miller was much hotter than Peter Smith in the seventh grade, for which she was very grateful. It hadn’t been anything more than a shrug of the shoulders.

She knew she was lucky, in that regard. From what she knew, there weren’t many people who were as easily able to accept they were different so quickly, so easily, and who had a supportive family to boot. She’d won the lottery and she knew it. The day Eliza had come home with a rainbow pride pin badge she’d found at the mall one day, Kara knew she had nothing to worry about. Alex had been a different story, but the support that she’d received had been no less heartfelt.

All she wished for was someone to love her as much as she loved them. It wasn’t even as if she was fussy, Kara thought, laughing as Maggie and Alex had an arm wrestle to determine who could have the last bite of cake. They moved said cake off to the side so that they’d have room for their arm wrestle, and were so intent on their actions that they didn’t notice when Eliza poked it with a fork and popped it into her mouth, shooting a secretive glance and a smile at Kara as she did so.

No, Kara wasn’t fussy. Aside from GreenLeaves, she hadn’t felt a spark of interest in anyone in quite a long time. Oh, and Lena of course, but Lena was just a friend. _A friend who you think is kinda hot_, her brain supplied, before Kara shut that thought right down. Lena was so far out of any mere mortal’s league that she wondered if anyone had dared to try in the last few years.

And then that thought made her sad. What if Lena was lonely? Lena deserved to be loved as much as anyone else did. Her mind wandered back to Jack. Lena would surely date someone like him again. Handsome, clever, and kind. Someone was going to make Lena Luthor very happy someday. Kara just hoped that they were going to be worth her time and treat her as well as she deserved. In the meantime, Kara liked Lena very much indeed, and hoped that they would grow to be great friends. She felt warm and happy just being around her. She ignored the flicker of discontent that rattled through her veins at the thought of Lena dating _some guy_ in the future.

Lena really was lovely, Kara thought to herself wistfully, her gaze wandering around the room to the photos on the walls. She wondered whether Lena had any photos of people that she loved in parts of her apartment that she hadn’t yet seen. Who did Lena love enough to put photos of them in frames? She hoped one day, a photo of them together would make it into a frame.

A sudden wordless shout from Alex startled her out of her reverie, and she turned to see that Alex had won the arm wrestle, and victorious, turned to claim her piece of cake. Except, of course, there was no cake to claim.

“Okay! Who ate my piece of cake? Kara, was it you?” Alex cried in an indignant voice.

“Me? I’ve been all the way over here watching you two goons wrestle for invisible cake,” Kara laughed.

“Who’re you calling goons?!” both Alex and Maggie shouted together at the same time.

“Jinx!” said Eliza, and then she and Kara burst into laughter as both Alex and Maggie folded their arms and glared at each other silently, since now, of course, they were weren’t allowed to speak.

“Well, now that that’s done, Kara and I are going to have a nice, peaceful evening, aren’t we?” Eliza said through her giggles. “Whatever shall we do with all this silence? Loser washes the dishes,” she added, nodding at Alex and Maggie.

She got up and cleared all the plates away, still laughing, and took them into the kitchen.

As Kara passed them both, carrying out the glasses to wash, she leaned in to whisper to Alex, “Eliza ate your cake!”

“You-” Alex started to say, and then “ouch!” as Maggie slugged her hard in her upper arm.

“You lose! Loser washes the dishes. Adios, sucker!”

Alex grinned good-naturedly, and stood up to kiss her girlfriend. “Fine, but I’m getting the first shower.”

“Not if you’ve got your hands in the sink, you won’t!” Kara said, before rushing upstairs, ignoring Alex’s protests, and hearing Eliza and Maggie cackling together from the kitchen.

Kara loved her family.

* * * * *

It was Tuesday afternoon, and Lena had actually come to CatCo for a meeting with Snapper Carr, in person. Kara was out of her office and in the bullpen at the time, and as Lena made her way through the sea of journalists, most of whom were staring at her, she was witness to what surely must be one of National City’s greatest sights – Snapper Carr being slightly subservient and wanting to make a good impression on someone.

Lena waved at Kara as she closed the door behind her. Lena had let her know that she was meeting Carr to offer a deal – CatCo could have any and all L-Corp related exclusives, as long as Kara was the one who got to report on them. Lena wanted someone who could get to know L-Corp and the staff, learn what they and the company were about, what they were working on, and report on them fairly. Everyone was aware that it could look a bit like L-Corp, and Lena in particular, was favoring Kara, but Lena herself would have nothing to do with the press at all, unless she needed to be interviewed for some reason. This was coming from the PR team, who had been pleased with CatCo’s reporting.

Carr, of course, was happy to jump at the chance to get every exclusive that came out of L-Corp, and agreed immediately.

Once Lena was done with the meeting, she followed Kara up to her office. It used to be James’ old office, a tiny box room (and it still was), but Kara had made it her own. It was very cheerful, and she was happy to have Lena visiting her there. Lena looked around it with interest, peering at the photos on the wall, and flipping through the old magazines that Kara had piled up on her desk for research purposes.

“So this is where the magic happens,” Lena murmured to herself, picking up Kara’s glass paperweight and looking through it, making one of her green eyes appear absolutely enormous. Kara snorted as she pulled their lunch out of the little fridge she kept in the corner.

Lena raised an eyebrow at her, and put the paperweight back down.

“My mother gave that to me, my birth mother I mean,” Kara said, nodding at the paperweight before passing Lena her salad and indicating the sofa. “It was for my twelfth birthday. I think I’d been annoyed that all my homework sheets were flying around the room because I always preferred having my bedroom window open while I worked. So she got me that.”

“I’m glad you still have it,” Lena said, giving it another look and a gentle touch. “It’s like sea glass. Is it?”

“Yes, actually. I’m not sure what it was before, but it was heavy enough to be used as a paperweight. I used to love beachcombing when I was a kid. It seemed amazing to me that every time I walked along the shore, the sea would’ve brought in something new. There were always different creatures in the rock pools, for example. I thought it was great. I would’ve been a marine zoologist, but I was dire at biology, so that was out.”

Lena laughed, spearing some of her salad with her fork. “Biology wasn’t something I enjoyed that much until I got to university, actually. I preferred robots and engineering. But once I realized that I could apply engineering to biology, I was hooked.”

Kara leaned back on the sofa and grinned at Lena. “So, what makes Lena Luthor smile? I mean, what do you do for fun?”

Lena tilted her head and playfully narrowed her eyes at Kara. “Are you asking as my friend, or is this on the record and ending up in your next article?”

Kara slapped Lena’s knee lightly in response. “I’m asking as your friend!”

“Well, in that case! Spending time with you makes me smile.”

“Aw, Lena!”

“It’s true. I don’t mean to sound like a sad sap or anything, but I’ve never really had friends. I spent my life apart from people, first at boarding school because my accent was all wrong, and then because I kept being shifted up grades ahead of other people and I was too young to make friends with the older kids in my class. And then because of my last name.” Lena gave a one-shouldered shrug as she looked over at Kara, pure acceptance on her face. It made Kara sad. “So, spending time with a friend, with my… best friend, is new. And lovely.”

Kara shifted up on the sofa and wrapped her arms around Lena’s shoulders. “And you’ll always have me,” she said, giving Lena a squeeze before pulling back. Lena’s eyes were shining. “So, what else makes you happy?”

“I like to play chess, when I can find someone who wants to play the long game with me. I love travelling, and I love reading about all sorts of things. I’ve told you about the photography already.”

Kara feigned heavy thinking with a finger and a thumb on her chin. “What about rock climbing?”

“_Rock climbing_ was the example you came up with? Well now you mention it, I did do a little of it back when I was in Greece. But I can’t say I enjoyed it very much.”

“Have you ever been to the circus?”

“Nope. My mother thought it was for the peasants. Her words, not mine,” Lena sighed, fiddling with her fingers.

Kara rolled her eyes. “I believe it’s my turn to choose the next place we eat, right?”

Lena snapped her head up and gave Kara a suspicious look. “Yes?”

Kara’s only answer was a wicked smile.

* * * * *

A week later, on a Sunday afternoon, Kara howled with laughter as she watched Lena gingerly pick her way across a muddy parking lot on the outskirts of National City. “I told you to dress casually!” she gasped out when Lena finally reached her, reaching out to steady her when Lena slipped a little on some loose mud.

Lena scowled at her. “This is casual, isn’t it?” she asked, looking down at herself.

Kara took a step back, put her hands on her hips, and surveyed Lena’s outfit. Tailored black jeans tucked into knee-high boots, a green silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and an Alexander McQueen scarf wrapped around her neck. Her sunglasses were Ray-Bans, and she didn’t know what brand Lena’s bag was, but it looked designer.

“Honestly, Lena! Do you even own a tshirt?”

“Of course I do,” came the slightly miffed response, but Kara could hear the underlying amusement. “You saw it when we went bowling.”

“_It_, singular. Why didn’t you wear _it_?”

“Because, you didn’t tell me where we were going, and I didn’t want to underdress, darling.” Kara’s heart leapt at the endearment, the first time Lena had called her anything other than her name out loud and outside of a text message.

“Come on,” she said, holding her hand out, which Lena took without question. They carried on walking for a little bit. “I’ll buy you a tshirt, unless you want to risk getting all sorts of sauce on your probably expensive scarf and shirt?”

Lena gave her a horrified look. “_Where_ are you taking me?”

Kara stopped in her tracks, and used their joined hands to point at the giant tent in front of them. “You said you’d never been to the circus, so I thought I’d bring you to one. Everyone should go at least one… Lena? We don’t have to go if you don’t want to…” Kara trailed off at the inscrutable look that had lodged itself on Lena’s face.

Green eyes roved over the big top, the cheery flags waving in the breeze, the trailers parked all over the place, crowds of kids and teenagers, families.

Kara kept watching Lena’s face. The expression on her face changed several times, too quickly for Kara to keep track or interpret what they were, but after half a minute, which felt like an hour to Kara, a slow smile spread over Lena’s face. It started out slowly, before becoming wider and wider, until it became a huge, toothy grin, and then she started to laugh, before she threw her arms around Kara’s shoulders, hugging her tightly.

“Come on,” Lena said, letting go and grabbing Kara’s hand again, dragging her across the car park faster than they’d been going before, heedless of the mud that was splattering up her expensive boots. “I want to try a hot dog, and eat candy floss, and wear terrible tshirts. Will there be clowns? And acrobats?”

Kara bought Lena a huge red tshirt with National City Circus and a clown plastered across the front, and directed her to the bathroom block up some rickety metal steps, snapping a photo when she came back out with the tshirt drowning her.

Collecting themselves some snacks, including hot dogs, popcorn, giant Cokes, and candy floss in bags, they trooped into the big top and took their seats in the crowd, wedging themselves into the narrow seats. Kara pointed out the orchestra seated above the ring entrance, and explained that there were certain songs that meant different things to the performers, informing her that if she heard them start playing _Stars and Stripes Forever_, then they should probably exit the tent in an orderly fashion.

Lena looked mildly terrified at that.

Eventually, the ringmaster came out and announced that everything was about to begin, and the lights went down.

As the performance progressed, Kara realized the singular pleasure that is taking someone to the circus for the first time. As elegant and composed that Lena was, as friendly and open she was when she was comfortable, and as intelligent as she was, there was nothing to compare to the expression of pure joy that made its way to Lena’s face and stayed there.

The beauty of the circus was that although everything was safe, it always gave the impression of not being safe at all. So when the trapeze artists flung each other through the air, Lena maintained an almost painful grip on Kara’s knees; Kara was sure that she was going to have fingernail holes right through her jeans and into her skin. When the tightrope artist made her way across the very highest rope with no safety harness attached, Lena’s hands made their way up to almost claw at her face, and Kara had to pull them away from her eyes so that she could watch.

Lena laughed at the antics of the clowns and the comedic unicyclists, a sound that was full of pure, childlike enjoyment. When the contortionists began their synchronized act, Lena, despite being a scientist and no doubt fully understood what a body was capable of, marveled at the fact that they could cram themselves into the smallest of boxes and not have broken all their bones in the process. When one of them bent themselves over backwards to the point where they could poke their head between their ankles and through the other side, Lena was agog.

Lena’s hands were sticky, and her lips shone with the sheen of sugar from the candy floss, but she didn’t seem to have noticed, or if she did, she didn’t care.

Throughout the show, Kara found herself taking more and more glances at Lena. She found that watching the act and then seeing how Lena was reacting to it really helped her to enjoy it more. It reminded her of being a child herself. At its core, a circus was clean, fun, and highly-skilled entertainment. Anyone can find joy in the acts and awe at the perceived danger, and everyone can marvel at the talents of the acts in real time. There were no screens between you and the performers, nobody super-famous that people tended to focus on, and enough variety that nobody got bored. It was simply old-fashioned entertainment, and Kara loved it.

And by the looks of things, so did Lena. The brunette was a woman of her time, and technologically-minded to the core. She had helped to create tiny medical robots that were capable of assisting in surgery. Admittedly, Kara had only seen Lena’s office, but there was barely any paper in there; everything was held on computers. To see Lena so engrossed in something that must be so alien to her was… magical. Kara cursed Lillian for never taking little Lena to the circus as a child. After a man was thrown particularly high in the air by the other performers, Lena held Kara’s hand in a death grip, and Kara felt a blush building up on her face.

When it was all over and the performers came out to take their last bows, Lena stuck her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle, something Kara had never been able to do. The circus lights danced across her face, and her eyes were shining with delight as she turned to look at Kara.

Kara sensed that Lena rarely let herself be seen so unguarded, and Kara knew she’d made the right decision by bringing her here, muddy boots and all.

* * * * *

“You took _Lena Luthor_ to the _circus_?!” Maggie asked later that evening, aghast, as if she couldn’t believe it. “Lena Luthor, the CEO of L-Corp, the woman who has more degrees than all three of us put together, _with change_, and of all the up-scale places you could’ve taken her on a date, you took her to the circus?”

The three of them were lounging around on Alex’s sofas., drinking glasses of wine.

Kara felt her cheeks pink. “It wasn’t a date, Maggie. And yes, I took her to the circus! She had a good time. In fact, she had such a great time that she emailed all her staff to take an extra day of holiday whenever they wanted within the next month so that they could all go as well, and that she’d pay for their tickets if they decided to take her up on it.”

“Hmph,” Alex said. “Really?”

“Yeah, really. I think she saw the benefit of doing something away from screens all the time.”

Alex shook her head. “No, I meant, it wasn’t a date?”

Kara shot Alex an exasperated look. “No, it wasn’t.”

“But you like her.”

“Of course I like her Alex, she’s my friend. She’s funny and smart, and yeah she’s really, _really_ distractingly pretty, but that doesn’t mean that I want to date her.”

Alex exchanged a look with Maggie that plainly said more to them than it did to Kara. “After meeting her, she’s cool, you know? A good person. And she’s definitely beautiful, so I wouldn’t be surprised if-”

“Can we drop it?” Kara whined. “I don’t know how I feel right now, and I’ve had too much wine, so I don’t really want to talk about it.”

* * * * *

Honestly, though? Kara did want to talk about it. She knew she was having some feelings that went a little beyond simple friendship. The more time that she spent with Lena over the past few months, the more she got to know her, the more she liked her as a person.

The problem was that aside from Alex, who was family, Lena was her best friend, and she didn’t want to mess that up by bringing up some different kinds of feelings that may or may not go anywhere. They’d become very close very quickly, and Kara didn’t have much experience with that. She may just be having… very intense friend feelings. She was sure that was a thing people got sometimes, right?

The truth was, Kara admitted to herself in the darkness of her bedroom later that night, the windows open and blowing a cool breeze across her face, was that she _liked_ Lena. At least, a little bit. Enough to know that how she felt about Lena and how she felt about, say, Winn, was different; as distinct as red and blue. She couldn’t say when that had changed, exactly. She hadn’t known Lena for that long in the grand scheme of things. Just a few months, really.

But… but Lena was lovely. She was kind. She was trusting of Kara almost immediately, despite not knowing her for that long either. She was friendly. She was knowledgeable. And her green eyes made Kara blush.

Yeah, her feelings needed to be sorted out. But for now, she shoved them inside a little box in her mind, to be looked at another time. She didn’t even know if Lena liked women that way. For now, it would have to be enough to have Lena as her best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooh Kara is putting a name to her feelings!!
> 
> P.S. I love Katie McGrath. And I love her even more since I received a note from her in the post on Monday so pardon me while I go and binge-watch Merlin and Supergirl for the next few days!!


	8. July

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caretaker Kara to the rescue :)

For the last days of July, Lena was due to be going away to France for ten days for meetings with the board of a leading technology company that L-Corp hoped to acquire. The company in question was willing, but there were a lot of last-minute details that needed to be worked over, and rather than try to do it over the phone or by email, Lena had decided that the easiest way to conduct business was in person.

Lena told Kara this a few days before she popped over to L-Corp for lunch and found Lena sitting at her desk, her head in her hands, her fingers massaging her scalp delicately.

“Are you alright?” Kara asked, before she even said hello.

“I’ve got a migraine,” Lena murmured, “and I’m trying not to move. I’ve had it since yesterday evening, and I’ve got another conference call in fifteen minutes in preparation for my trip to France next week. The painkillers aren’t working, and through some idiotic oversight of mine, the blinds in this office are nowhere near as heavy as this headache requires.” Looking up, Kara saw that they weren’t even closed.

“Okay,” Kara whispered, thankful that she’d worn flats today so her shoes didn’t make much noise on the floor. She walked over to Lena’s desk and laid her hand between Lena’s shoulder blades. “I think you should go home, Lena,” she said.

“I can’t, mmmhh,” Lena said, keeping her eyes closed. “Could you shut the blinds please?”

Kara did so as quietly as possible before sneaking out again. Lena didn’t move.

She approached Jess. “Is there any specific need for Lena herself to be on the next conference call or can it be handled by someone else? She has a migraine and is sitting as still as a statue.”

A worried look crossed over Jess’ face, and she glanced towards Lena’s office doors. She was clearly deciding whether company policy or her concern for Lena won out in terms of propriety in front of Kara, but she made her decision within seconds. “This conference call only requires that someone high up in L-Corp listens in; Lena just prefers that person to be her when it comes to certain aspects of the business. If she consents to it, I could ask the CFO, Samantha Arias, to step in, so that she can go home.”

“I’ll go and ask her, okay? She looks quite unwell.”

Jess nodded. “Come back and let me know what she says, so that I can put the call in if I need to. Sam will need to get herself ready for this; it’s scheduled to last for the next four hours.”

“Four hours?” Kara said, aghast, and went straight back into Lena’s office.

She crouched down next to the silent brunette. “Hey, Lena? Jess said that she can have Samantha Arias sit in on this call for you, so that you can go home. Is that alright?”

Lena cracked her green eyes open and looked at Kara through a narrowed squint. “Not that I don’t trust Sam with my whole life and everything in it, but-” Lena winced, and shut her eyes again. “I need to be here,” she finished in a pained whisper.

“Lena, you can’t even keep your eyes open, never mind concentrate for a four-hour call. Let Sam do it. I’m sure she’ll take loads of notes and email you anything pertinent. Now come on, let me take you home.”

Lena sighed gently, but her face scrunched up with the effort anyway, and she gave the tiniest of nods.

“Okay, okay,” Kara said, pressing her hand to Lena’s forearm in a gesture of comfort. “I’m going to go tell Jess. One minute.”

Back at her desk, as soon as Kara came through the doors and nodded, Jess picked up her phone and dialed. “Hi, Sam? Miss Luthor is going to need you to sit in on her conference call in her place. No, she’s going home sick. Yeah, I know, I’m just as shocked as you are. It starts in 10 minutes; I’ll email you all the details… yes, take as many notes as possible, you know what Lena’s like,” Jess finished, fondness in her voice, before she hung up and looked at Kara. “I’m going to call Lena’s driver. Can you get her stuff together and take her down to the car park? Press the CP button in the elevator and swipe your security card. It’ll take you straight down there.”

“Thanks Jess, you’ve been a lifesaver,” Kara said. “I don’t know what she’d do without you.”

“I have no idea either,” Jess replied.

Back in Lena’s office, Kara crept around and gathered Lena’s things from her desk, putting her cell phones (did someone really need four cell phones, Kara thought to herself) into Lena’s purse, pulled any charger cables out of the walls that she could see, and put those together with the laptop and tablet she found on the desk into the large laptop carrier that was propped up against the bookcase. Lastly, trying as best as she could not to look at any of the words in case they were confidential, Kara closed all the slim folders on Lena’s desk and shoved them into the laptop case as well, and into her own bag when she ran out of space.

“Hey,” she said softly to Lena, who tilted her head to show that she was listening. “I think I’ve got everything you might need or want, but is there anything else around that I’ve missed?”

Lena lifted her head and looked around slowly. “That green file that’s on the shelf over there,” she said, “and that’s it.” She stood up, pressing a hand to her temple. “Ugh. Okay, I’m ready.”

Kara picked up all the bags and the green file Lena had indicated, and together they left the office.

“I hope you feel better Lena,” Jess said quietly as they left.

“Thanks Jess. I’ll come back in tomorrow to catch up on-”

“You’ll do no such thing. Take tomorrow off, as well as the next day. I know what you’re like with your migraines,” Jess said, brooking no disagreements.

Lena looked slightly taken aback for a moment at Jess’ brazen authority, but evidently decided that it came from a place of concern, and didn’t question it. Kara swept Lena into the elevator, pressed the CP button and swiped her security card. The lift began to move, and Kara could tell that Lena was using all her energy to hold herself together.

Kara had had a few migraines in her time, and knew that they were not pleasant in the slightest. The only thing that helped her, personally, was to medicate herself up to the eyeballs, bury herself in her duvet in a blacked-out bedroom, and eat only Eliza’s chicken soup until it went away. She had no idea what would help Lena, but darkness helped everyone, so that’s where she was going to start.

When the elevator had stopped and the doors opened, they made their way gingerly across the empty but-for-one car park (dimly, Kara wondered whether Lena had her own car parking floor for security reasons), towards the shining black town car that was a smaller version of the one that had picked everyone up after the bowling night.

Lena sagged into the back seat once she’d climbed in, clearly grateful for the darkly tinted windows. Kara stashed all the bags in one of the footrests and slid into the seat next to Lena.

The journey to Lena’s apartment was mercifully short with barely any traffic, and it seemed that in no time they were opening the door to the apartment and dropping their stuff on the floor. Lena, pale as a matter of course at the best of times, now had a complexion that could best be described as ghastly.

“I hope you don’t think I’m being rude,” she said softly, as she toed her shoes off, “but I think I’m going to just go to bed for a little while.” She looked genuinely worried that going to bed while she had a migraine would put Kara out in some way, like she would actively try to stay up and keep Kara company if she wanted her to.

Kara was having none of it, though. “Of course, Lena! Do what you need to do. Go to bed. I’m going to go home and make Eliza’s special chicken soup and bring it back later, in case you’re feeling up to eating something. It always makes me feel better.”

“You don’t have to come back if you’ve got somewhere you need to be, Kara,” Lena said slowly, the sentence clearly costing her effort to say. Kara looked at her carefully. Her words said one thing, but the look in her eyes, if Kara was reading them right, said that she wanted Kara to come back, that she didn’t want to be alone, but that she didn’t know how to ask.

For a moment, Kara wondered whether Lena had ever really had anyone look after her when she was sick. Kara knew that Lena was a grown adult who could easily look after herself in every way, but the urge to take care of her was strong, and Kara only gave resisting a token effort before she gave in. “I’m not busy. I’ll come back here with the soup.”

Lena gave her a grateful smile and padded towards her with her arms outstretched. Kara walked right into them, feeling Lena sink into her embrace, and bury her face into her collarbone. She could feel Lena’s gentle breath against her skin, and she rubbed her hand on Lena’s back. “Go get some sleep,” Kara murmured. “I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” She felt Lena nod against her, before they released each other and Lena wandered off down the corridor towards her bedroom.

Kara let herself out and walked to the nearest supermarket on the way home, gathering the ingredients she needed for the chicken soup as well as various tubs of ice cream and some other treats, and took a cab back to her apartment. She didn’t really have much to do for the rest of the afternoon anyway. She was researching an article for Carr about National City’s old Cold War nuclear bunkers (she had no idea why he had asked her to research this, but it was turning out to be a fascinating topic nonetheless), so didn’t need to be in the office.

After preparing all of the ingredients and letting them all simmer together for the next hour and a half or so, Kara threw some jogging bottoms and a couple of hoodies into a bag, as well as some baggy tshirts. She well-remembered that Lena only owned the two tshirts, and she doubted that she had many comfortable lounging-around clothes. Lena rarely took days off and often worked from home on the weekends, and every time Kara had seen her in a casual setting, her clothes had certainly not been casual. So, Kara was going to provide them and Lena could just live with slobbing around in outsize clothes for a few days until she felt better. Kara nodded to herself in satisfaction.

She packed her own laptop and earphones into her bag, plus the book she was reading just in case Lena took a while to get up from her nap. She dished the huge amount of soup – there was probably enough for both of them for three days in there, Kara thought – into several Tupperware containers, piling them up neatly into another bag.

Teetering under the weight of everything she was carrying, she wobbled her way out of her apartment and down to the street. Hailing a cab somewhat awkwardly given the bags hooked over both of her arms, she gave the driver Lena’s address and sat back. It was just after 3pm, which meant that the streets were busy with after-school traffic.

Kara opened her cell and Instagram account, searching for **@scotch_and_science**. She hadn’t looked through Lena’s personal account very often, although they did like each other’s posts and leave occasional comments. Kara felt somewhat… protective of her access to Lena’s Instagram, for some reason. There were a few new posts this time. There were a few of her and who she assumed was the CFO of L-Corp, Sam Arias, since she seemed to be tagged in the phone, as well as her daughter, who Lena had her arms around. There were a few photos of her crouched next to dogs that she’d clearly seen in parks, and last week she’d uploaded several photos from the bowling and arcade night.

But the latest one was a photo of the _donuts_. There they were! Kara zoomed in as best she could to see if she could spot the name of the bakery anywhere on the box they were in, but she couldn’t.

She left a comment. “**@scotch_and_science** – are you ever going to tell me where you get these magnificent creations?!” and left a string of sad and crying emojis after it.

Huffing out a mildly frustrated breath, she closed the app. It had become a running joke now; Lena would not tell her where the donuts came from. Kara suspected it was because she liked being the one to provide them as a treat for Kara, and although she asked Lena often, sometimes springing it into the conversation where there was no opening and hoping to shock Lena into providing the bakery’s name, it made her smile when she thought of Lena having that little secret from her.

But _why_ did it have to be the world’s most delicious donuts that she was keeping from her?! Why not a secret identity, her work as an undercover agent for the CIA, or the knowledge that she owned all the contents of every bank in Switzerland? Why did it have to be donuts?

The weather was on the turn, and Kara groaned as the rain started to fall on the windows of the cab. By the time the cab pulled up outside Lena’s apartment, the rain had become a torrential downpour, and she hurried across the large plaza and into the building, soaked to the skin. The receptionist and security guard gave her disapproving looks as she squelched across the lobby, leaving wet footprints in her wake.

As she got into the elevator, her cell pinged with an Instagram notification. Looking at it, she saw that** @SamReignsOverYou** had commented “I’m sure she’ll tell you if you ask nicely. She doesn’t share those donuts with just anybody” with a winking face underneath her donut comment. She was clearly bored during Lena’s conference call. What was Sam Arias implying? Did that mean that Sam knew where Lena got her donuts? Well. She’d never met Sam, but she’d have to use this to her advantage. Meet her and wheedle the information out. Somehow. She sent back a few crying emojis and slipped her cell back in her pocket.

When she let herself back into Lena’s apartment, it was utterly silent aside from the sound of the rain splattering against the windows; Lena must have got back up and opened some of them in an effort to get fresh air blowing through the apartment. Kara put her laptop case and bag of clothes and other bits onto the kitchen island as delicately as she could, before opening the fridge to put the soup in. The contents of the fridge were utterly tragic, in Kara’s opinion. Salads, bags of various leaves, lots of punnets of different kinds of fruits, several tubs of whipping cream, and two bottles of milk.

Where were her _snacks_? Half-empty boxes of Chinese takeout? Leftover pizza?

Slightly depressed at the thought of Lena owning no snacks at all, and glad she brought some with her, Kara stashed the soup containers in the fridge and closed the door.

The freezer wasn’t much better. Bags of peas, peas, and more peas. Kara frowned in dismay and shifted the bags around and tried to see if there was anything else in there, but nope. It was mostly empty, except for the peas. Kara shoved the four tubs of ice cream into it and shut the door, determined to sneak some edible food into Lena’s fridge and freezer every time she came over.

Kara stood up, put her hands on her hips, and surveyed the kitchen. Right. Where was the bathroom? She didn’t want to pry in Lena’s apartment without her, but they hadn’t really had time for a tour the first time she’d been here, and her clothes were still sodden from the rain. She fished out one of her thin, fitted hoodies, a pair of jogging bottoms, and a pair of fluffy socks from her bag and decided to head down the corridor she’d watched Lena walk down earlier. Luckily, the door to the bathroom was ajar.

She slipped in and closed the door behind her, marveling at what she saw. This was easily the most palatial bathroom she’d ever been in; she was reasonably sure that the majority of her apartment would fit in here. It was clear that Lena, or whoever had designed it, had an unlimited budget and a penchant for black and grey. Kara walked slowly forward. Two large and deep sinks, a sliding door that contained the toilet and another sink.

There was a bath wide enough for two that Kara could see herself in with a pile of books on the surface next to it. Facing it was a large wide-screen TV mounted on a marble privacy wall, behind which, Kara discovered, was the shower. The shower area was about six times larger than most she’d seen, with two shower heads and two handhelds. All the necessary soaps and things were on a set of chrome shelves at one end.

But what stopped Kara in her tracks was not that the shower was so large. It was that one of the walls was not marble at all, but _glass_ – the view from Lena’s apartment showed a huge swathe of National City. Surely the glass was one-way, but the thought of showering there while being able to look out over the city made her want to put on every stitch of clothing she’d brought with her. And what if Lena were showering _with_ someone else – nope. Nope. Not going there.

But her mind went there, and the surge of red-hot jealousy that burst through her at the thought of _someone else_ with Lena made her feel sick. She stalked away from the shower and into the toilet, shut the door, and changed into her comfier clothes. Back in the main bathroom, she hung her soaking clothes up on the large towel rack and hoped that Lena wouldn’t mind. She left them there, steaming away, and headed back to the living room.

* * * * *

Four hours later, the rain was still falling heavily. Kara was on the sofa with her feet up, her laptop resting on her thighs while she watched one of the movies she’d stored on it, and eating her third bowl of ice cream. She’d found the bowls after a few minute’s searching in Lena’s immaculate kitchen. The spoons had taken a little longer, but once she had everything she needed, she’d settled herself.

She’d spent three hours researching for the article, and then put _Charade_ on. It was an old film starring Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, and no matter how many times she’d seen it or how much of the dialogue she knew, it never got old. She tried to smother as much of her laughter as she could in an effort to keep as quiet as she could, even though she didn’t know how far away, exactly, Lena’s bedroom was.

She was so engrossed in her movie that she didn’t hear Lena coming up behind her until she saw a shape looming in her laptop screen.

Kara let out a yelp of surprise and nearly launched her laptop across the room. She managed to keep hold of the half-full bowl of ice cream, thankfully, but it was a close thing. Behind her, Lena was chuckling quietly.

“Lena!” she exclaimed, yanking her earphones out and clutching her hoody over her heart with one hand as she leaned back and looked into tired green eyes, hidden slightly behind her black-framed glasses. “You scared the shi- er, shivers out of me!”

“I scared the shivers out of you?” Lena replied, raising an eyebrow. “Can’t say I’ve heard that one before.”

“Well, anyway,” Kara coughed, trying to calm her racing heart, “how are you feeling?”

“Better, thank you. Not completely, this will last another few days if my experience has taught me anything, but the worst is over.” She looked curiously at the bowl Kara was holding. “Did I have ice cream in the freezer?”

Kara looked down into it. “Oh! No, I bought some on my way over. I can get your soup for you now though. Are you hungry?”

Lena nodded, her expression grateful, and Kara clambered off the sofa, pressing pause on the movie and taking her bowl to the kitchen. She took a moment to look over Lena; she was still in her business clothes, which were more unkempt than Kara had ever seen the businesswoman. It was if she’d fallen asleep in her clothes, and if Kara was honest, it had looked like Lena needed it. Lena sat in the space she’d vacated, and closed her eyes.

“Where are your saucepans, Lena?” she said, her voice a little louder than normal so that it would carry across the space.

Lena looked over at her. “They’re in the island, in a cupboard just to the left of the sink.”

Kara looked in the cupboard. “Aha!” She pulled out a medium-sized one and poured the appropriate amount of soup into it – one portion for Lena, two portions for Kara (what? Sue her. She was hungry) before cooking it on a low heat. Placing the crusty bread she’d bought onto the breadboard on the island, she sliced up half of it and laid it onto a plate while Lena watched from the sofa.

Kara hummed under her breath while she cooked, wondering what Lena was thinking. This really was the best chicken soup in the world though, and Kara hoped Lena would like it. She stirred it gently, making sure that the soup was cooking evenly. She cast a look over her shoulder and saw an expression on Lena’s face that she hadn’t seen before, her eyes squinting slightly, and not from pain.

“Wow Lena, you must really be hungry. You’re looking at me like you might murder me if this doesn’t cook any faster!” Kara exclaimed. Lena’s mouth dropped open, and she gave her an incredulous look, as if Kara had miscalculated something rather badly. Kara frowned. “What?”

“I- um… nothing,” Lena said, sighing, folding her arms over the sofa and resting her chin on her hands. “I’m just hungry is all.”

“You honestly look like you’re about to eat me instead of the soup if I don’t hurry up!” Kara joked.

Total silence engulfed them, and a pretty blush rose over Lena’s cheeks. Too late, Kara realized she shouldn’t have said that. Mortified, she spun around and stirred the soup with short, jerky movements, risking flicking it everywhere.

“It’s done,” she squeaked, leaning down to get them a couple of bowls. Behind her, she heard Lena get up and move towards the kitchen island.

“Can we eat here?” Lena asked, her voice sounding a little strained. Kara chose to believe that it was because of her migraine, rather than the idea that she’d just voiced a really inappropriate joke to her best friend.

Lena, her cheeks still pink, pulled out the cutlery that they’d need, and set some places for them with placemats and napkins. Kara spooned the soup into the bowls, handing one to Lena and setting her own down. Rather than think of something witty to say to cover her error, she dunked a piece of bread into the soup and stuffed it into her mouth, burning her tongue and the roof of her mouth on it in the process. Her eyes watered as she fought against spitting the soup out.

“Are you alright?” Lena said, getting up as quickly as she could manage and pouring Kara a glass of water from the tap.

“S’hot,” Kara mumbled around the bread as she chewed, swallowing it in one big lump and chasing it with the water. “Oh god. That was awful. Remind me not to eat so fast next time.”

“I hope you mean the burning and not that the soup itself is awful,” Lena replied with a smile.

“The soup is the best ever!” Kara replied, dunking some more bread in it and remembering to blow on it this time.

Lena did the same, but more cautiously than Kara had. When she tried it, she let out a pleased little moan that had Kara fighting a blush of her own. “This is amazing, Kara,” she said, soaking a second bite of bread.

“You sound surprised!” Kara said in mock offence. “Did you think that I’d do a terrible job?”

Lena smiled down at her soup. “No, but to be honest I… I had no idea you could cook. You always bring takeout when you come to visit me.”

“Oh, that’s just because it’s easier if we get something that doesn’t require me having to carry plates and cutlery to your work,” Kara said with a laugh. “I actually love to cook.” They let a comfortable silence cover them as they ate, neither feeling the need to fill it with anything except their company.

“Well, if you ever feel like cooking for me, and I hope that you do considering how good this soup is, I’ll buy some crockery that we can keep in my office,” Lena said as she mopped up the last of her soup with a hunk of bread, a smirk on her face telling Kara that she planned to do just that. Kara laughed when she imagined Jess opening a cupboard to look for a file and coming face to face with a pile of bowls and plates.

“But seriously, Kara, thank you for this. I’ve never had someone cook me chicken soup when I’ve not been well before. It’s… nice,” Lena put her hand on Kara’s forearm and squeezed gently, “and I really, really appreciate it.”

Pushing her glasses further up her nose with her other hand, Kara smiled. “You’re welcome, Lena. Any time. I mean it.”

Lena slowly slid her hand down Kara’s forearm to intertwine their fingers. “I’ve never had a friend like you before,” she said, quietly.

“I’ll always be around for you,” Kara replied.

“Promise?”

“I promise, Lena,” Kara said, blue eyes meeting green. Lena gave her a tired, but grateful smile. “Come on, Miss Luthor. I’ll start my movie from the beginning and you can rest a little more.”

“What were you watching?” Lena asked, following Kara over to the sofa, not letting go of her hand.

“_Charade_. The old version,” Kara clarified. “Do you- oh wait, here, I brought you some cozier clothes to wear,” she said, dropping Lena’s hand and leaning forward to dig through the bag, pulling out more jogging bottoms and an oversized NCU hoody. “It’s not that I thought you wouldn’t have comfy clothes but… but, well, you told me you only had one tshirt, plus now that circus one, so I made an educated guess,” she babbled, holding out the clothes.

Lena looked touched, and took the clothes with both hands, her fingers closing around the soft materials. A warm smile grew on her face. “Thank you, darling,” she said softly. “You’re my hero. Give me a moment to…?”

“Oh sure, of course,” Kara said, waving in the direction of the bathroom. “I hope you don’t mind, but I went in there earlier and changed clothes myself. I left my soaking wet ones on your towel rail. I got caught in a downpour on your plaza outside and… well,” she shrugged.

“Make yourself at home here Kara, really,” Lena said, her voice allowing no argument. “Feel free to use whatever you need here, okay? If you want a shower or anything, just say so. I’ll show you where the towels and things are.”

Kara rubbed the back of her neck. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“The um, your windows in the bathroom… are they one-way or can, er, everyone see in?” Kara regretted asking almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, and she mentally kicked herself.

Lena stared at her for a second, before bursting into quick laughter that had her wincing and holding her head. “Oh, don’t make me laugh! Yes, it’s one-way. I’m not an exhibitionist, Kara!”

“Well, I… um, I just wondered. About the glass, not about your- er, well. Anyway, my clothes are in there so don’t go thinking they’re some kinda ghost or anything, okay?”

Lena raised one of her eyebrows. “I promise not to think your clothes are a ghost. And on that note, I’m going to…” she pointed in the direction of the bathroom.

When she’d gone, Kara sat down on the sofa and put her face in her hands, willing herself not to put her foot in her mouth any more this evening.

Lena came back not long afterward, carrying both hers and Kara’s clothes. She opened a door next to the kitchen, that revealed a small laundry room. She dumped the clothes in the washing machine, added the detergent and fabric softener, and turned it on.

She looked impossibly soft in Kara’s clothes, and Kara felt her stomach clench at the sight. She’d left her hair down and taken off her makeup, and Kara felt… felt… privileged, moved even, that Lena had allowed her into her life like this. This was Lena Luthor entirely without pretense, without her intimidating wardrobe, without her perfect makeup. Today, Lena had let her into her life, let her into her tiredness, her domesticity, and Kara felt gratified.

“C’mere, Lena,” she said in a quiet voice, leaning over the back of the sofa and holding her arms open. Lena looked up, and smiled at her, before padding over.

“One second,” she said, holding up a finger. She took Kara’s laptop and plugged it into the TV using an HDMI cable. This struck Kara as a bit too old-fashioned for Lena, but perhaps she really wasn’t feeling complicated right now. Lena started the movie from the beginning, picking up the TV controls and putting them down next to Kara.

She sat down and leaned against Kara, snuggling herself up against her until her head leaned down on Kara’s chest, her nose almost against Kara’s collarbone. Kara felt her breath catch in her throat when Lena nuzzled a little against her and sighed.

“You’re really comfortable,” she murmured. Kara chuckled in response, and brought her left arm up to brush her fingers through Lena’s hair gently. That had always helped her when she had a migraine, and it seemed that Lena was no different at all. She groaned against Kara’s skin, and seemed to melt into a Lena-jelly. “Don’t stop.”

Kara had no intention of stopping. They quietly watched the movie, while Kara ran her hand through dark hair, sifting it through her fingers, twisting it softly into little ropes before releasing it. She could smell Lena’s shampoo; some kind of fruity brand. She smelled divine, and Kara tried her best not to inhale it too obviously.

Eventually, halfway through the movie, Lena fell asleep, her left hand up by Kara’s shoulder occasionally twitching.

And that was when it struck Kara. Right there, one hand in Lena’s hair and the other wrapped around her waist, making sure she didn’t fall off the sofa. This hadn’t been a big, momentous day. In the grand scheme of things, nothing much had happened. Lena had a migraine, Kara had cooked soup. That was about it. But for her, something had definitely shifted, from _this_ to _that_.

There didn’t always have to be a big moment for you to realize something important. Sometimes, it was in the quietness of a day where nothing much happened. Sometimes it was in making soup for your best friend, who was sick. Sometimes it was being willingly given a glimpse beneath the polished veneer of someone and seeing the person beneath, the person that she figured Lena let hardly anybody see. She wasn’t a badass businesswoman right now; she was a vulnerable woman, asleep in someone else’s arms, who had given herself entirely over to her trust in Kara.

Sometimes it was holding someone close to you, feeling them breathe in your arms, and knowing that there was nothing you wanted more than what you had right now. That this was what mattered.

And what mattered was that Kara knew she could no longer deny that what she felt for Lena went beyond them being friends. Beyond them being best friends, even though they were. Lena was more than a friend to Kara now, and Kara let the acceptance of that fact wash over her. She still had no idea whether Lena was anything other than straight. Somehow, she’d never asked, and Lena had never volunteered that information.

Kara sighed deeply, and Lena frowned in her sleep. “Sorry,” she whispered, running her hand back through Lena’s hair as she closed her eyes.

When the movie was over, the rain continued to fall against the windows, but the two women inside the apartment didn’t even notice. They were both fast asleep, wrapped up in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked this chapter :) it's one of my favourites. It's also really the last of the calm before the proverbial storm :) but not really an angsty storm! Just... more like a run instead of a walk.
> 
> Also I watched the first episode of Secret Bridesmaids' Business and well. I can imagine there's going to be a whole load of SBB fanfic in the future!


	9. August

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena play some board games, and Kara starts to seriously wonder whether Lena returns her feelings.

The ten days that Lena had to be in France had stretched to two weeks, then three, and then longer as the two companies hashed out the details for the acquisition by L-Corp. From what Lena was telling her, both sides were excited about it. The French company would lose none of its staff, would have to halt none of its research or development, and none of the offices would have to move. L-Corp gained a foothold in France, new ideas, and excellent and talented new staff.

Kara missed Lena, but she heard from her almost every day. The time difference between them now was nine hours, which meant that phone calls were almost impossible, except for on the weekends, thanks to their respective workdays. Lena had offered to fly Kara out to Toulouse for a week on her private jet (because of course she had her own private jet) so that she could show Kara around a place that she truly loved, but because it was so short-notice, Kara couldn’t take the time off work. It was a shame though, because although Lena was spending her working hours in the city, in the evenings and on the weekends, she was out exploring and enjoying the area.

Kara was sitting at her kitchen table and doing some research for her latest article about the National City Police Department; Snapper Carr seemed to have caught onto the fact that CatCo journalists were capable of more than writing about fashion, and was regularly finding them more interesting work. At least, she was meant to be doing research. In actual fact, she was looking at Lena’s Instagram and wondering what to have for dessert after her lunch of ice cream, which she was just finishing up. She picked up her cell to make a call to her favorite Chinese takeout place when it rang in her hand.

The sudden sound made her jump, but then she saw Lena’s name on the screen. She swiped eagerly to answer it.

“Hello you!” she chirruped.

Lena let out a chuckle from half a world away that Kara felt deep in her bones and in her heart. “_Hello Kara_.”

“How are you doing over there? What time is it?” she asked, shaking her watch out of her sleeve to peer at it.

“_It’s 11pm. I just came home from going on a walk around the walls of la Cité_.”

“You were walking the walls by yourself?!” Kara asked, aghast.

The sound of Lena’s elegant laugh came through her phone and Kara felt herself blush at the sound of it. “_It’s really safe here, Kara. I didn’t see a single other person the whole time I was walking around_.”

“Wasn’t that creepy, though?”

“_Not at all! It was quite refreshing actually, after the week I’ve had, to have it to myself_.”

Kara got up from the table and took herself and her bowl of ice cream over to her sofa. Settling down on it, she shoveled a spoon of ice cream into her mouth. “Tell me about your day,” she mumbled around her mouthful.

There was silence from the other end of the line, and then, “_Kara, are you eating ice cream again?_”

Kara swallowed. “Maybe…”

It was as if she could hear Lena’s disapproval through the miles. “_Have you had lunch?_”

“Maybe…”

“_That’s a no. _Kara!”

Kara laughed, a full-belly laugh as she imagined Lena’s face. She would be frowning good-naturedly at her, if they were looking at each other now.

“You’re not here, you can’t make me eat healthy things.”

“_You can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes,_” Lena sighed, but Kara could hear the smile in her voice.

“So, tell me about your day while I clog my arteries with the Chinese I’m about to order,” Kara prodded.

“_For the love of- when I come back, I’m taking you out for dinner and there won’t be any dessert._”

“Lena, you _monster_! You wouldn’t do that to me, surely?”

“_Don’t test me, Danvers_.”

They talked for a while about their respective days. Lena had spent the whole day in and around Carcassonne. She told Kara about the lunch she’d had, the walks she’d taken, and the museums she’d looked around. It had been a while since Lena had visited, and Kara could hear the joy in her voice as she described being able to go to her favorite bakery for her morning bread, and sitting in her favourite coffee shop for a little while and reading a book.

Lena had been staying in Toulouse during the week, in order to be closer to work, but on the weekends she’d been using her small Carcassonne residence as a base for exploring, and taking her favorite walks in the nearby towns and the foothills of the Pyrenees. She’d rented a hilariously tiny car (“it’s efficient!” Lena complained when Kara laughed at a photo of it on Instagram) and pootled around the Languedoc with her expensive camera equipment in the back, stopping wherever she pleased. She was posting beautiful photos of the areas she saw to her **@scotch_and_science** Instagram.

The places she went looked magical, Kara thought wistfully, as she pored over the photos one Saturday morning. Today, Lena hadn’t strayed too far so hadn’t uploaded many photos; it was already the evening there, and before she called, she’d uploaded a photo of the walls at dusk. Kara mooned over it for a moment and hit the heart button, wishing she’d been able to go.

At Kara’s behest, Lena had taken a few photos of herself whenever the view had been spectacular. Lena never had her face in these photos, choosing instead to stand quite far away from the tripod and using the camera’s remote to take photos of her back, the wind in her usually loose hair. Kara’s favorite was the one she’d taken after Lena hiked all the way to the top of Montségur – the wind had blown Lena’s hair into a tangle, and her hands were up, trying to tame it. She was looking to the side, and obviously laughing.

Kara thought that was one she was going to frame, when Lena came home.

Or, maybe, go with her the next time she went, if Lena offered again. She hoped that she would. There was something so romantic about the thought of touring around southern France with her beautiful brunette best friend. Kara sat with the thought for a second before she rolled her eyes at herself. _Best friend, yeah right_.

On the phone, Lena was slowly falling asleep. It was now past midnight where she was, and Kara suddenly remembered something.

“Oh! I totally forgot to mention. You’re home next Friday, right? September 6th?”

Lena yawned. “_Yeah, I’m staying a little later and then flying home late Tuesday night, arriving Wednesday morning. Why? Are you coming over on Wednesday night?_”

“Winn wants to do another game night, and I’ll be hosting it. You haven’t been to one since that time you wrecked us all at Mario Kart. I still don’t know how you did that. And, yes, I will be there because I need to see your reaction to all the changes I’ve made to your apartment in your absence.”

“_Kara, what-_” Lena’s voice sounded apprehensive, even as she stifled another yawn.

“Anyway, so the next game night is on Friday and it’s going to be board and card games. Think team Monopoly, Ticket to Ride, Saboteur, Trivial Pursuit…” Kara rattled off the names of the games she could remember that Winn owned, not noticing that Lena was quite silent at the other end of the line. “Lena?”

“_I’m here, Kara_.”

“Do you know the games?” Kara asked.

“_Not… off-hand_,” Lena replied, her voice slightly cagey. “_I’m- I’m also quite sleepy, so maybe they’re not coming to mind immediately_.”

“Ahh okay. I’ll let you go then. And… I’ll see you on Wednesday night?”

Kara heard the smile in Lena’s voice. “_I can’t wait, darling._”

* * * * *

On Wednesday afternoon, Kara raced home from work. Lena was back in National City, and she couldn’t wait to go and see her. While Lena had been away, she’d been over to her apartment several times, because it was much quieter than hers and Lena said she could go there to get some peace and quiet any time she needed. There was more than one occasion when she’d fallen asleep on the sofa. Kara didn’t want to go creeping through the apartment when Lena wasn’t there, but she’d found the towels in the bathroom, and tried out the bath.

It was heavenly, and Kara spent several hours in there reading and luxuriating.

She’d also taken Lena at her word to make herself at home, so she’d filled the cupboards, fridge, and freezer with snacks. Lena now possessed Pop Tarts, all sorts of chips, different flavors of Coke, a cupboard full of candy, and a drawer full of takeout menus. Maybe it was a little bit of overkill, but never mind. There were also more cozy blankets on the sofas and chairs.

Kara planned to cook Lena dinner, so that they could have a catch up without needing to go out, but she needed to change and go shopping first. She dumped all her work stuff on her kitchen table and then stood in front of her railings, trying to decide what to wear.

As it turns out, choosing what to wear when you want to look nice for the woman you kinda sorta have a rather large and maybe-embarrassing crush on and something suitable to cook what could possibly be a messy dinner in was a very difficult task indeed.

Hopping from foot to foot in her underwear, Kara deliberated calling Alex for help, but then she would have to explain why she was having a predicament in the first place, and she didn’t exactly want to tell Alex just yet that the feelings she thought she had were real. She was having _like_ like feelings for Lena, her brain childishly tossed at her. _You like your best friend, yes, in _that_ way_._ Because Lena was lovely and who wouldn’t like her?!_

Kara blew out a frustrated breath. Yeah. She was pretty sure that if people pulled their heads out of their asses and bothered to get to know her outside of her last name, plenty of people would like Lena.

She tossed a pink dress over her shoulder. Lena was really intelligent, and that was such a big plus point for Kara.

Pulling out a green shirt, she threw that onto the bed as well. Lena looked really cute in her hoody that one time.

A red pair of trousers were aggressively thrown onto a nearby chair. Lena was a cheeky little madam, if her performance at the bowling night was anything to go by.

Picking out a black jacket, she tilted her head at it, before dropping it on the floor. Lena was such a _kind_ person.

Eventually, Kara was left standing in a sea of her clothes and feelings, holding up only one dress in her hands. It was a dark blue, sleeveless wool dress. She ran her fingers over it, and revelled in how soft it was to her touch. _Just like Lena’s hair_, her evil little brain supplied, and Kara let out an annoyed little scream.

She hung the dress up on a hanger on the bathroom doorframe, and hastily picked up all the clothes she’d strewn around her bedroom, hanging them back up as best she could before everything got wrinkled. She had a quick shower and got ready to go, shoving her feet into some sandals, and called a cab.

Kara made a stop at the expensive supermarket that was near Lena’s place, and walked the rest of the way there. Thankfully, it wasn’t raining this time, and she let herself into the lobby, waving at the security guard who knew her face by now. He gave her a little wave back as she headed to the elevator.

She wasn’t entirely sure what she was expecting when she let herself into Lena’s apartment; a hug, perhaps. Lena coming out of a room somewhere. Music.

What certainly didn’t rank in the top ten of ideas was coming to a standstill in the doorway because the whole apartment was a really, really colorful disaster. Everywhere she looked, on every surface, a different board game was set up. On the dining table which Lena rarely used, which was protected by a felt cover, was a tall Jenga game with a few bricks out of it, and Uno cards spread out. On the kitchen island, Kara spotted Carcassonne, Tokaido, and Pandemic, with all their pieces spread out. On the floor was Twister. And on the glass table in front of the sofa were Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit, taking up the whole surface.

Sitting behind them was Lena, wearing an old MIT hoody and a pair of jeans, perched on top of a cushion, her hair up in a loose and messy ponytail. There were wisps hanging down from it across her face, as if she’d tried to run her hands through her hair several times, but found that she couldn’t, since she’d tied it up.

Lena looked up when Kara opened the door, and watched her silently as she took in the mess Lena had made of her apartment. Blue eyes met slightly embarrassed green ones across the room, and Lena stood up slowly as Kara picked her way across the floor towards her.

“Hi!” Kara said, as she got closer to her.

“Hey!” Lena replied, her eyes brightening as she moved carefully around the table, holding her arms out. Kara practically barrelled into Lena, hugging her tightly around the middle and lifting her slightly off her feet.

Kara heard Lena laugh in her ear as she wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck, burying her face in it. Kara put Lena down again, but didn’t let her go just yet. Lena’s arms moved to her own waist, and they stood there, holding each other close. She pulled back a little, and took in Lena’s face.

Despite spending three weeks near the Mediterranean Sea, she was just as pale as before she left, and the thought of Lena constantly sticking to the shade or wearing wide-brimmed hats the whole time made her smile. She brought one of her hands up and cupped Lena’s cheek, feeling the brunette still beneath her before leaning into her palm, and kissed her forehead.

“Hi, you,” she murmured against Lena’s skin. She felt Lena squeeze her gently before she let go and stepped back.

“Hello Kara,” Lena said, her cheeks slightly flushed. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Lena.” Kara replied, moving forward and reaching out to touch Lena’s cheek again, butterflies in her stomach exploding when Lena’s eyes closed as her fingers brushed her face.

Kara paused, before she carefully reached up and carefully pulled Lena’s hair out of the ponytail she had it in. Lena kept her eyes on her face as Kara ran her hands through her dark hair, and rested her left hand on Kara’s hip.

“I really did miss you, you know,” Kara said again, her voice quiet and serious.

In answer, Lena stepped right into her space, right up against her with her hand on her waist, and kissed her softly on the corner of her mouth. Kara’s skin tingled at the touch of Lena’s lips, and she smiled.

“So, what’s all this?” Kara asked, looking around again.

Lena gestured at the games and cleared her throat. “Research.”

“Research?”

“Research,” Lena confirmed, with an overdramatic nod.

“Okay,” Kara replied, drawing the word out with a smile. “Tell me while I cook? I brought steak!”

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re perfect?” Lena said, following Kara’s careful path across the living room floor.

Kara flushed and reached a hand back behind her for Lena to take. She did, and Kara closed her fingers around Lena’s as she led her across the room. Not seeing Lena for weeks on end apparently made her really touchy-feely. And Lena… Lena was so responsive to her tonight. She rubbed her thumb across the back of Kara’s hand as they reached the island.

Kara leaned down and picked up the bag she’d left by the door and Lena tidied away one of the board games so that Kara would have somewhere to put the bag. She set it down on the island while Lena cleared up the other games, and started bringing out what she needed. Pulling out one of the chopping boards, she started to slice up the baby potatoes she’d bought.

“So,” Kara started, looking up at Lena as she slid into a seat opposite her, her green eyes watching Kara’s hands moving around.

“Um,” Lena said, before getting up to pour herself a glass of wine. “Would you like one?”

“Please,” Kara said, as Lena looked into the bag to check the steak.

“They’re fillet,” Kara supplied, “if that helps the pairing. I don’t really mind what you choose, though.”

Lena nodded, and then chose a Pinot Noir to go with their meal. She poured them out, and set Kara’s glass down near the chopping board.

“So… about the board games,” Lena said in a dismissive tone that didn’t fool Kara for a second. “When you mentioned board games on the phone, I realized that I didn’t know how to play any. So in order to not make a fool of myself or have to get everyone to explain the rules to _everything_, I brought Jess to a game shop and asked her to help me pick out board games that might be played,” she said in a rush. “Some of them,” her eyes wandering around the room, “seemed like party games. And other ones I just liked the sound of. Like Tokaido.”

She climbed to her feet and brought the box over so she could read about it to Kara. “The idea is that you’re a traveler in old Japan. The point isn’t to get to the end as quickly as you can, it’s more about the journey. You have to taste different food, look at panoramas, buy souvenirs, things like that. The person who has had the most fulfilling journey wins at the end.”

Her voice sounded quite thoughtful, or perhaps pensive. Kara wondered why, and then she understood. Lena’s life had always been about reaching the next great height. The next degree, the next successful technology development, the next position, the next acquisition. She was always looking for the next achievement; a lonely daughter who couldn’t seem to gain her mother’s approval in any other way. It didn’t leave a lot of room for Lena to stop and smell the roses. She saw the appeal that a game centered around the smaller pleasures of life would hold for Lena.

“It sounds like a great game, Lena.”

“It comes with music, too!” Lena said excitedly, after a moment. “I don’t think it’s quite right for a game night, but I’d like to play this with you, sometime. I mean, if you’d like to play with me.”

“I’d love to,” Kara replied, leaning over and placing her hand over Lena’s, before returning to slicing the potatoes.

She tipped all the potatoes onto a baking tray and seasoned them with a little oil, salt, and a few herbs, before chopping up some garlic and sprinkling it along with salt into the large flat-cap mushrooms. Kara added the mushrooms to the potatoes and put them all in the oven.

“When you say that you don’t know how to play any board games…” Kara prompted.

Lena looked up at her as Kara was seasoning the steaks. Her eyes were soft, but sad. “The only board game I know how to play, if you can call it that, is chess. We never played any other games, growing up. I didn’t realise that was strange until I was a little bit older. And when I got to university, everyone was so busy that they never stopped to play games, except for pool and video games. And those I joined in with, but board games kind of… passed me by.” She fiddled with her fingers for a few seconds before glancing back up at Kara. “How pathetic is it that I didn’t realize how sad my childhood was until I was an adult?”

“No, Lena no. It’s not pathetic at all,” Kara was quick to reassure her. “Not letting your kids play games, that’s a level of cruel that I didn’t realize parents stooped to, if you don’t mind me saying so. That makes me kinda mad, actually. A child should be allowed to play.”

“I know. I mean, I know that now. I know she was just trying to make me the best that I could be-”

“But it was at the expense of your childhood, Lena,” Kara stated gently, but firmly.

Lena stared at her, mouth moving as if she wanted to say something, before she shook her head and took another sip of her wine. “I know that in a manner of speaking, my upbringing could be considered… harsh-”

“Do you want to know what I think?” Kara said, placing the steaks on the grill and turning to look back at Lena.

Lena nodded, “always.” But, Kara thought, she looked a little unsure, even apprehensive.

“From everything you’ve told me about Lillian, it really just sounds to me that she was punishing you for the sins of your father. It’s not your fault that he found your mother and she had you, or that you ended up in the Luthor family. I think that Lillian was ashamed that your father’s indiscretion resulted in a child that she eventually had to raise, a blow to her self-esteem. So, she tried to mold you into someone she could be proud of, while simultaneously moving the goal posts at every opportunity. But it’s natural for a child to want their parent’s approval, and she’s the only mother you’ve ever really known. And what she did was _so unfair_.”

Kara ran out of steam, and, thinking that she’d possibly overstepped the boundaries of friendship, she turned around and started to grill the steaks. They wouldn’t take long, a few minutes each.

Behind her, Lena was silent, and Kara didn’t say anything else. When the steaks were done, she put them on the plates to let them rest at room temperature until the potatoes and mushrooms were done.

“Lena,” she said quietly, starting to turn around. “I’m sorry, I think I-”

Lena’s face was pink with the effort of trying not to cry, even as she wiped an errant tear off her cheek.

“Oh, shit,” Kara exclaimed, quickly rounding the island and pulling Lena into her chest. “I’m sorry, Lena, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s… okay,” Lena replied in a watery voice. “You’re right, actually, I- I never really thought of it like that but- but you’re right. I think she was punishing me. I was just a child, and she sent me so far away, pushed me so hard, and expected so much. I never thought I was good enough and-” Lena hiccupped as a sob made its way through her throat, quickly followed by another one, until finally she passed a hand over her face, leaning against Kara’s chest, as she cried.

Kara held her as Lena let it out, feeling desperately sorry that she’d been so blunt. She rocked Lena gently from side to side for a few minutes, until Lena went silent, her spell of crying gone almost as soon as it had come. Kara felt that this was a topic that Lena would come back to over the years, but for now… at least this was a start.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly.

Under her chin, Lena cleared her throat, before nodding. “I’ve got tears on your lovely dress,” Lena murmured.

“It’s drip dry,” Kara joked, and Lena let out a wet laugh as she leaned away from Kara and wiped her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from,” Lena said, moving to the glass table to grab a tissue.

“Don’t apologize for having emotions, Lena,” Kara scolded gently. “You’re not a robot. I’m sorry I was so blunt. Sometimes I put my foot in it. Or my whole leg, in this case.”

“It’s okay. You’re really the only person who’s been honest or brave enough to say what they think to my face. And you’re my… best friend, and I’d always want you to be honest with me,” Lena said, giving her a wobbly smile before looking down at the island. “I value your opinion, far more than I think you know.”

Kara picked up both of Lena’s hands in hers before she could start fidgeting, as she knew Lena was wont to do when she felt anxious, and ducked her head so that Lena had no choice but to look at her face. “I’ll always tell you the truth,” she said, firmly.

* * * * *

Kara taught Lena how to play board games. They played Monopoly three times that night, and by the end of it Lena wondered out loud why on earth anyone would think that playing a game where you’re meant to destroy your friends and take all their stuff was meant to be a good time.

“I feel like if I had played this with Lillian and Lex, one or more of us would’ve ended up dead,” she mused, as she moved some of her piles of money so that she could push her playing piece across the board.

Kara sighed as she landed on Lena’s hotel on the Boardwalk, _again_. “That’s what everyone thinks about this game, don’t worry,” she said, as she passed over the last of her meager pile of dollars to Lena.

“Then why do people play it?”

“Trust me, I have no idea.”

* * * * *

Every time Kara came over for the rest of August, they played at least one of the games that Lena had bought. She seemed to enjoy the ones that required cooperation the most, but when it came to trivia or word games, Kara knew that Lena would absolutely leave everyone else in her wake, unless every round was pop culture. Or if the person describing the words in Articulate wasn’t very articulate at all.

At night, Kara dreamed of playing pieces hunting her down in a maze. Lena seemed to be having a lot of fun, though, and Kara was glad that she was the one who had been able to welcome her into the world of board games, even if it should’ve been her family years ago.

Whenever Kara came over, Lena would have prepared the dining table for them to play a game together, and Kara hoped it would become a tradition. She enjoyed her time with Lena, sitting side by side, working through the rules together (Lena was a stickler for them, checking the rule book for the answer to every question she had), and drinking wine.

Sometimes, she would catch Lena giving her a fond look whenever she made a particularly silly move in a game, or if she had to wake her up on the sofa after she’d fallen asleep. Lena would crouch down so that she could gently brush Kara’s hair behind her ear as she woke her up, and to Kara, waking up with Lena’s fingers on her face was like a dream.

Since Lena’s return from France, after Kara had fallen asleep on the sofa enough times, she’d graduated from the sofa to the spare bedroom if she needed to stay over after too much wine. Now, when it was established that she was going to stay over, Lena would usually keep Kara’s fingers in hers as far as the bathroom, before giving her a kiss on the cheek goodnight. Kara now had a toothbrush in Lena’s giant bathroom (she’d since learned that Lena rarely used it, preferring the en-suite to her bedroom, which was much smaller although no less expensive-looking), as well as a drawer full of comfy clothes, pajamas, and a few sets of work clothes just in case she had to rush off to work from Lena’s.

She also learned that Lena only usually stayed here during the week and if she had to work the weekends. She had a smaller place on the outskirts of the city that she had bought and decorated herself. Kara hadn’t yet seen it, but she looked forward to being allowed over the threshold at some point.

These days, whenever Kara met her friends for a drink after work, if she was able to, Lena joined them. Their little group quickly got used to having Lena with them, welcoming her with open arms whenever she showed up. Kara didn’t think this had anything to do with the fact that she insisted on paying the bar tab whenever she did come out with them; Alex and their friends genuinely liked Lena, and that knowledge made Kara feel warm inside.

Kara initially expected more resistance from Alex, but she had mellowed when it came to Lena, keeping her comments about her family to herself. She’s given Lena a chance to prove herself, it seemed, and Lena passed with flying colors. Sometimes, Alex would give her a knowing glance every time she caught Kara looking at Lena with puppy-dog eyes. As time passed, Lena opened up more and more, and although she was still reserved, it no longer looked like she felt she was intruding on their group.

Lena always sat next to Kara, even if there was very little space. Being quite slender, she was able to squeeze herself into tight spaces, perch on the edge of benches, or shoulder herself into a gap with no more than a smile and a hand on someone’s arm.

If Lena had a few drinks, she got more tactile. There was more than one occasion where Kara had felt Lena’s hand on her knee under a table, or when Lena slid her arm around her waist, or laid her head on Kara’s shoulder when she was feeling sleepy if the night was wearing on.

It had a subtle affect on other people, too. Kara noticed that when Lena was with her, nobody came up to her with hopeful looks on their faces and cheesy pickup lines in their greetings. And in their local bars, even if Lena wasn’t there, fewer people approached her, as if they expected her raven-haired shadow to show up at some point. It seemed that, whether she intended to do it or not, Lena had staked a claim on Kara that was both soft in its style and skillful in its execution. Kara didn’t know whether it was her recognizable face, her last name, or her enviable charm, but people respected the distance Lena crafted between them and strangers in public places.

Kara felt Lena almost like a gravitational pull. Wherever Lena was, that was where Kara wanted to be. She was aware that she was letting her crush get a little out of hand, but she couldn’t help it. Lena was magnetic, and Kara was helpless.

And sometimes, Kara wondered whether Lena also felt it, the longing pull that Kara accepted as part of her existence now. She didn’t want to put any stock in hope, because as ridiculous as it sounded, she still didn’t know for sure whether Lena was batting for her team or not. At this point, Kara was seriously wondering whether Lena might return her feelings, which would mean that she had a chance. There was no direct proof, as Lena had never explicitly stated whether she liked women. But every now and again, there were hints, and Kara greedily gathered them up.

Like that time when they’d gone to a gay bar to meet some friends of Maggie’s, and one of them had asked Kara to dance before Lena had got there. It was around the time when Lena had just started coming out with them, and Kara had thought nothing of going to dance with the woman, who was quite pretty, if not her type. It was just a dance, after all. When she had spotted Lena walking into the bar, she’d seen the moment Lena spotted her with another woman, and Lena had looked almost _betrayed_, turning away quickly to talk to Alex. And Lena had been a little sad all evening, saying she’d had a long day and blaming it on work, before being back to normal once the night had passed.

Or there was that time when Maggie rather crassly asked Lena which celebrities were on her list, and they were all female.

There was that moment where Alex asked whether Lena was dating anyone, and after receiving a negative answer, asked whether there was anyone that she _wanted_ to date. Lena’s cheeks turned a pretty pink and her response had been a rather shy, “_maybe, but I’m not sure they’re interested in me_.”

Or the way that Lena always brought her the special donuts.

The way that Lena looked wistful whenever Kara introduced her to someone as her best friend.

There were all those times where Lena was affectionate with her, when they were alone together. All those kisses Lena left on Kara’s cheeks, her fingers slipping through hers, the brushes against her lower back or across her shoulders, the cuddles on the sofa while they watched a movie. The way that Lena had let Kara wholly into her life.

Kara tried not to let herself hope too much, but as much as she wanted to pry into Lena’s love life, she also really didn’t. She was aware that Lena dated, although from what Lena told her, not very successfully. Most people were scared off by her name, thought she was catfishing them on dating apps or social media, or stood her up even if they had agreed to a date.

Lena had recently confided to her that she hadn’t been on an attempted date in over six or seven weeks now. Maybe longer. Kara had thought back and realized that it would mean Lena hadn’t tried dating since that time they’d all gone bowling.

Kara tried to turn her brain off to no avail. She didn’t want to ignore the hints Lena seemed to be dropping, if they meant that she could... the way Lena looked at her sometimes made Kara want to tug Lena against her chest, tip her chin up, and press a gentle kiss to her lips.

Alex had been absolutely no help, just slapping her upside the head and telling her to look at what was right in front of her.

But _Lena_ was in front of her. Beautiful, kind Lena, who held her hand and kissed her cheek, and cared for her. And she didn’t want to mess up their friendship by expressing her feelings if it turned out that what her heart told her were signs were not. Her heart clenched in her chest; on the one hand, it wanted her to be brave, to talk to Lena, risk it, tell her that what they had wasn’t what she was so sure it could be, if they both took a chance on each other. But on the other hand, what if Lena… really didn’t feel the same? What if the affection she showed Kara was just that – affection? By her own admission, Lena didn’t really have friends. What if this affection was just Lena being friendly, because she was unfamiliar with the boundaries?

Surely not, she wasn’t giving Lena enough credit here. Surely, she knew the difference. But then that would mean that Lena… returned her feelings? On some level, Kara knew she was being an idiot and that Lena clearly liked women in some way. But on another level, she was terrified to be wrong, and she knew it. She wanted some kind of proof.

Kara groaned and dropped her head into her hands, frustration running through her mind. Who was going to step over the line first – Kara, or Lena?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're slowly getting there... they're aaaalmost there... <3


	10. September

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena attend game night, and play Twister.

One morning, after a very sleepless night spent tossing and turning, kicking the covers off her bed, Kara decided she wanted to try to get some proof of… something. By the time she was at her desk at CatCo, Lena was firmly at the forefront of her mind. While on the one hand she wanted to wallow in her feelings for Lena and never tell her about them in case they truly weren’t returned, on the other, she desperately wanted to see whether Lena would follow her down that path and walk through the door with her. And perhaps follow her up to the bedroom. Her brain tossed her an image of Lena, her eyes dark and her mouth chasing Kara’s.

_No_, she can’t think about kissing Lena in bed while she was at work. _No_. She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

She pulled her cell out of her drawer and pressed Lena’s name in the messaging app.

**Kara:** _ What do you think of Jodie Foster?_

**Lena:** _ In what sense?_

**Kara:** _ Any sense! :)_

**Lena:** _ Well, she’s a wonderful actress and she deserves more Oscars than she’s won._

**Kara:** _ What about her personal life?_

**Lena:** _ I respect her desire to keep her private life private._

Kara shoved her cell back in her bag. That was useless; she’d gained nothing other than a desire to watch _the Silence of the Lambs_ yet again.

* * * * *

Later on in the afternoon, while sitting alone in her office and researching Pride around the world, she sent Lena another message.

**Kara:** _ Have you ever been to Pride?_

**Lena:** _ I go every year._

**Kara:** _ What, really?!?!!!_

**Lena:** _ Yeah, I sponsor about half the floats from smaller charities. Not that they know that, obviously, but still. I like to go and see them. :)_

**Kara:** _ Fair enough Have you ever gone with anyone?_

**Lena:** _ I go with Sam every year. Why do you ask?_

**Kara:** _ No reason!!_

**Lena:** _ There’s always a reason when you ask random questions out of the blue, and this is the second time today!_

**Kara:** _ Maybe I need the information for evil purposes…_

**Lena:** _ I’m shaking in my Louboutins._

**Kara:** _ WHERE DO THE DONUTS COME FROM_

**Lena:** _ Nice try!_

This was really frustrating. She was a reporter, for goodness’ sake. Getting information out of people really shouldn’t be this difficult. She could just _ask_ Lena outright about it, she supposed while tapping her pen loudly against her keyboard, but she figured she’d need to have a copious amount of alcohol before that could ever possibly happen. There were too many ways that could go wrong sober, somehow. Doing it with Dutch courage may make saying things a bit easier, but at least anything could be laughed off, if it needed to be.

Opening her cell one last time, she text Alex.

**Kara:** _ What’s the best way to tell someone you like them?_

**Alex:** _ By someone, you mean the badass Krav Maga graduate businesswoman CEO with multiple degrees, more money than Switzerland, and hair and eyes most of us can only dream of?_

**Kara:** _ ALEX_

* * * * *

Despite being pushed back three weeks because James had a last-minute gallery appearance to make, the game night that Lena had been practicing for with Kara seemed to roll around fairly quickly.

Lena was having a tough time at work, thanks to the acquisition that was finally going ahead. She was working very long hours, going early to work and staying very late. Kara had to call almost every day to remind her to eat dinner, and often went in to L-Corp at lunchtime to bring Lena something to eat at least for lunchtime.

Whenever Kara went over to Lena’s apartment, it was all Kara could do to get Lena to relax. She had to set a rule – no more work on weekdays after 10pm, and on the weekends, no more work after 6pm. Lena had stuck to it, mostly, and in an effort to keep Lena as relaxed as she could, they’d spent a lot of time together in those weeks, practicing board games and binge-watching various shows on Netflix in the down-time.

Kara worked hard to keep a lid on her feelings, knowing that the middle of an acquisition wasn’t the time to announce that she had an unwavering desire to move beyond the close friendship they’d built.

Eventually, the end of the month rolled around, and the acquisition was complete. The relief that Kara had heard in Lena’s voice when she called to tell her was palpable. Lena had gone straight home to have a very long sleep. And now, game night was finally going ahead.

Lena sent a message to say that she’d be late due to her own last-minute issue at L-Corp, a conference call she couldn’t duck out of, but to get started without her. Kara’s cell pinged with another notification on Instagram: Lena had uploaded a photo to **@scotch_and_science** of a large glass of wine on her desk at work with a note held up to it that said, “starting Friday night!” Kara hit the like button.

When Kara got to her apartment, she found Alex and Maggie already there, with Winn piling board games on one of the armchairs. Maggie ordered them a pizza, and James arrived at the same time as the pizza guy. Despite what Lena had said, they decided to wait for her before beginning any of the games. Kara looked at the games that Winn had brought and weeded out any that they hadn’t gone over at Lena’s the past few weeks.

The five of them sat around chatting and eating pizza and having a few drinks, catching each other up on their lives since the last games night when they’d all been together.

When Lena arrived an hour after the game night had started, she brought multiple bottles of alcohol, making her the most popular guest, especially with Alex once she’d clocked another bottle of expensive scotch in the bag on Kara’s counter. Lena poured herself an extremely generous glass of it in an effort to catch up with everyone else, and used her boardroom voice to scold everyone for waiting for her.

It was especially effective because she was still wearing her office clothes, and Kara choked on her wine when Lena raised an eyebrow at her. Her entire body flushed at the thought of Lena using her boardroom voice _on her_ and hoped like hell that her thought, _that’s hot,_ wouldn’t show on her face. She cleared her throat several times, causing Lena to look over at her, and by her slightly narrowed eyes and the mischievous smile on her face, Kara knew that Lena had caught her blush. _Damn_.

Once everyone had refilled their drinks and caught up a little, Kara got up and made her way over to Lena.

“Hey, you,” she said. “You’re a little overdressed for the likes of us, don’t you think?”

Lena looked down at herself. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing at all,” Kara said, “if you’re about to go to a boardroom meeting! Come on, I’ve got something more comfortable that you can wear.”

Lena dutifully followed her to Kara’s bedroom and stood behind her, sipping her scotch, while Kara flipped through the rails. Kara pulled out a pair of black jeans that she’d ordered off the internet and were therefore, of course, too small for her, but probably perfect for Lena. She also grabbed a tshirt and a hoody, knowing that Lena got cold in her apartment.

Turning around, she took Lena’s glass out of her hand, their fingers brushing. Lena’s eyes went soft, and she stepped into Kara’s space to give her a lingering kiss on the cheek.

“Hi darling,” she murmured against Kara’s skin, before pulling away and picking up the clothes Kara had put on the bed for her. “It’s been a few days. How are you?”

“I’m good thanks,” Kara replied. “I finally finished that ridiculous piece about the lack of pockets in women’s clothes that Snapper Carr wanted me to write. I don’t think he cares one bit whether women’s jeans have pockets in them, so I’m not sure what his agenda was with that one!”

“I suppose we’ll never know,” Lena said, chuckling. “I look forward to reading your article on it, though.”

“You could just invent some portable pockets or something,” Kara said.

There was a beat of silence, during which Kara berated herself for saying something so stupid, and Lena’s lips twitched as she unsuccessfully fought back a smile.

“You mean… bags?” Lena smirked. “I think that’s been covered already. Extensively.”

“Oh fine, ridicule my idea. I’ll be richer than you in a few years time,” Kara said, sweeping Lena towards the bathroom so that she could change.

When Lena came back out of the bathroom, the jeans fitted her in a way that made Kara glad that she’d taken the time to put a little makeup on before everyone had arrived. She knew she’d have to force herself not to look at anything lower than the brunette’s waist. Lena was wearing the hoody, but had rolled the sleeves up. She’d evidently taken her contacts out, because a pair of black reading glasses sat on her nose.

To everyone’s relief, Monopoly was not one of the games that everyone wanted to play; Winn put up a token protest, as it was the only game he could beat mostly everyone at. He’d also brought chess with him this time, and Kara caught the spark of interest in Lena’s eyes when Winn lifted it up.

“I’ll challenge you to a game of chess, Mr. Schott,” Lena said, her voice slightly nonchalant. Nobody was fooled except for Winn. He loved chess, and regularly beat them all.

“Alright,” he replied, cracking his fingers before setting the board and pieces up on the table. “I accept your challenge, Lena. Be prepared to lose.”

Lena’s eyes narrowed playfully at Winn as she took another sip of her scotch.

“I’ll even let you go first, like a gentleman,” he said, his voice full of cocky confidence.

What followed was the swiftest chess massacre any of them had ever seen. Every time Winn took his time and made a considered move, Lena made a move that either baffled him or took one of his pieces. It was clear that he had no idea what her strategy was; it was one he had never seen, and her face gave nothing away at all. His playing pieces piled up on Lena’s side of the board, and when it became clear the end was nigh for Winn, Maggie announced that every time Winn lost another piece, they should all take a shot. Alex had wholeheartedly agreed with that, and got up to grab a bottle of Disaronno that Eliza had brought home from Europe a while ago.

Soon enough, everyone was downing shots as Lena skilfully manipulated the board in a way that lost her none of her pieces unless she’d calculated their loss into her plan, and it wasn’t long before she announced, “checkmate.”

Winn flicked his king over in a gesture of defeat, standing up and giving Lena a little bow, which she accepted gracefully, downing her latest shot.

“Rematch next time, Luthor,” Winn said, holding his hand out, which Lena took. She winced slightly at the use of her last name, but Kara thought that nobody but her had noticed.

“I look forward to it,” Lena replied. “I haven’t lost a game of chess since I was four. It’ll be fun seeing you try.”

Everyone laughed and slapped both Lena and Winn on the back, before pouring them another drink each.

After that, everyone mostly choose team games, Charades (which Alex and Maggie won due to Alex somehow understanding that Maggie’s pinwheeling arms signified the Wind in the Willows), Ticket to Ride (Lena won, skilfully managing to block everyone else’s tracks and getting the longest route, a winding one all the way from Riga to Barcelona) and eventually, once everyone but Kara was drunk enough to think it was a good idea, Twister. This was the one game that she and Lena hadn’t played, mostly due to Kara backtracking away from it and saying that the rules were so simple that they could be explained at the game night in a minute flat, if it came up at all.

It had nothing at all to do with the thought of being twisted all over a mat with Lena. Nothing at all. _Yeah, right_, Kara thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

By this point, everyone was riding the highs of all the alcohol that they’d consumed, the pizza having done nothing at all to aid anyone’s sense of sobriety.

As Winn, James, and Lena were moving Kara’s furniture off the living room rug and spreading the mat out on top of it, Kara caught Alex giving her an indecipherable look from the kitchen.

“What’s up?” Kara asked as she reached her, picking up her abandoned glass of wine and taking a sip.

Alex nodded towards Lena, who was now laughing with Winn about something as he held up the Twister spinner board and spun the arrow for her. Kara watched her as she smiled, taking off the hoody and for an instant, revealing a sliver of her pale stomach as her tshirt rode up. Everything inside Kara seemed to freeze at the sight of it.

Alex elbowed Kara in the side and Kara jumped, rubbing her side and giving Alex a dirty glance. Alex rolled her eyes.

“What?” Kara said under her breath.

“If you take a photo of her, you’ll be able to stare at it without the chance that she’ll catch you doing it,” Alex said, in a voice just as low as Kara’s, before she walked towards the game. Kara gaped, looking at Maggie for support, but finding her only raising her eyebrows.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think Lena’s noticed your blatant drooling just yet,” she said, before joining Alex and leaving Kara alone in the kitchen.

“Blatant drooling,” she mumbled to herself as she emptied the bottle of wine into her glass, aggressively shaking every last drop out. “I do not _drool_-”

“You kind of do if you fall asleep on the sofa during a movie, darling,” Lena said, having appeared silently at Kara’s side to get another glass of scotch.

“Is this Bully Kara Day and nobody told me?” Kara asked indignantly.

Lena snorted. “Who’s bullying you and why? Do you need me to talk to someone for you?”

“No!” Kara squeaked. There was no way on earth Kara wanted Lena asking Alex what was wrong with her, even as a joke. Who knew what Alex would say, or what Lena would infer.

Lena held her hand out to Kara. “Come on, darling. Come and teach me how to play Twister. I hear it’s fun!”

Kara took Lena’s hand, ignoring the look that Alex was shooting her across the room, and followed her. “It’s really easy. You’ll probably need to take off your glasses though,” and she watched as Lena obediently took them off, carefully folded them, and left them on a side table. “So, the idea is that you spin the arrow and you have to put the corresponding hand or foot on the color. It’s okay for the first two rounds, maybe, but after that it gets trickier. And the more people that are on the board, the more tangled everyone gets, and you’ll probably end up with your face in someone’s armpit. Or maybe worse. Loser is the one who touches the mat with an elbow or knee first, or whoever makes everyone fall down!”

Lena’s face looked caught somewhere between delighted and distraught at Kara’s explanation, and if the way her fingers tightened around Kara’s was any indication, she felt nerves hit. Wordlessly, Kara handed Lena her scotch, and Lena promptly downed it.

“Okay!” Winn shouted, clapping to get their attention while Maggie put on some cheesy 80’s music from Kara’s laptop. “Who wants to go first?”

James, Maggie, Lena, and Alex played the first game, leaving Kara and Winn to spin the arrow for them once everyone else lost the use of their hands. Alex was easily the most flexible, and James, as the tallest, also had the advantage. Lena was quite small, but had somehow managed to get some quite easy color spots that were close together. Maggie, on the other hand…

“Maggie! Right hand red,” Winn called out.

“You’ve got to be… fucking kidding me!” Maggie burst out. She had her feet and other hand placed in such a way that meant she’d have to bend over backwards to reach red. She gave it a solid effort, but slipped on the way over, bringing Alex crashing to her knees and kicking Lena’s left hand out from under her, causing them all to collapse in a heap while James managed to leap out of the way unscathed.

“Ooof,” Alex moaned, having caught Lena’s elbow in her stomach and narrowly missing Maggie’s knee with her eye.

Lena’s eyes were shining with mirth as she crawled out from the mess, and Kara helped her up. Alex kissed Maggie briefly before they also climbed to their feet, laughing.

As the loser, Maggie sat out the next round with Kara stepping in, and Winn swapped places with James.

“Kara! Left foot yellow!” Maggie said, and the game began. Kara stepped onto the end of the yellow line.

“Lena, left foot yellow!”

Lena walked onto the mat and stood two circles in front of Kara, turning back to give her a smirk.

A few minutes later, Winn had somehow managed to fall over without taking anyone out and was nursing a glass of scotch. Alex was spread almost the whole way across the mat, her core strength really the only reason she hadn’t tipped over yet. Lena was crouched over the mat, most of her spots easy for her to reach for the moment, and Kara was facing the ceiling in an awkward backward spider position, both hands on red, and both feet on green.

“Lena, left hand red!” Maggie called, with a trace of amusement in her voice.

“Oh god,” Kara heard Lena groan, as she craned her neck to see where she’d have to go. Her right hand was already on red. In a second, Kara saw exactly why Maggie was amused. Lena’s new spot would mean she’d have to bend right over Kara to reach it, putting their faces almost together.

Lena gingerly lifted her left hand, testing her balance, and reached across Kara, teetering for a moment before her hand slammed down onto the red circle. She stayed upright, just, but now… now Lena was bent over on top of her, their heads close together, wisps of her dark hair tickling Kara’s face.

Kara’s body shook with the effort of keeping herself upright, and that was when she made her mistake. She looked up at Lena just as Lena was looking down at her. Her eyes were darker than she’d ever seen them, and she was biting her bottom lip between her teeth. She smiled down at Kara, but Kara couldn’t smile back. The air around them felt heavier than it had a second ago, and Kara swallowed hard as her gaze dropped to Lena’s lips against her permission, the alcohol in her veins lowering her ability to hide what she wanted.

Lena’s hair slid from her shoulders and fell down around them, acting like a curtain between them and the others, and the smell of her subtle perfume swirled around Kara. “Hi,” Lena whispered.

“H-hi,” Kara managed, her eyes flicking back up to Lena’s, before she shut them.

An image of herself reaching up to dig her hands into raven hair, pulling Lena’s body down on top of hers, and forfeiting the game by kissing Lena senseless spun across Kara’s mind, causing her breathing to hitch.

“Hey,” Lena murmured, before Kara felt a slight movement and then warm lips brushed a soft and silent kiss on her forehead, before Lena gently pressed their foreheads together. Kara opened her eyes to see Lena pull back infinitesimally, and Kara groaned, louder than she meant to. It was enough to make Lena’s eyes widen slightly, before another slow smile spread across her face, her eyes darker than ever. Maybe it was the alcohol, Kara’s desperate mind thought, but was that… was that _want_ she could see on Lena’s face?

Her mind went blank and her heart skipped a beat as Lena moved back a little and hesitated, her lips scant centimeters from Kara’s, close enough for her to feel Lena’s breath on her skin. Kara looked up at her, blue eyes fixed on green, silently giving Lena permission for anything she might want to do, and hoping that Lena understood her message. She wanted-

Just then, she heard the click of a camera behind her, and Lena startled, making Kara jump in turn and all of a sudden, she couldn’t hold the position any longer. She collapsed across the mat, her ankle hitting Alex’s hand and making her overbalance as well, leaving only Lena crouched over the mat. By her head, Maggie stood up, holding her cell phone in her hand, with an impish and knowing smile on her face.

Winn and James cheered, and Lena brought her knees down to the mat next to Kara’s hips, shakily raising her arms in victory, but her eyes sought Kara’s.

Kara, for her part, scrambled off the mat and took a wobbly step backwards, the alcohol in her system hitting her with her sudden movement. She sat down heavily in the chair that was just behind her. Lena stood up, looking just as unsteady as Kara felt. Their eyes caught for a moment, and understanding flashed through Kara as she read the naked longing in Lena’s eyes.

“Victory goes to Luthor! No surprise there,” Alex said wryly, winking at Maggie, and breaking the spell between Lena and Kara.

Lena stood up, brushing her hair back behind her ears before looking at her watch. “I- I need to go to the, um, the bathroom,” she stuttered out, and shuffled into Kara’s bedroom, closing the bathroom door once she’d reached it.

Maggie thumped down into the armchair next to Kara’s. “So. How you doing, Kara?”

Kara looked over at her and pushed her in the shoulder. “Har har. What did you do, take a photo of us?”

“Yup. You were too chickenshit to do it yourself so I did it for you. Thank me later,” she said, letting out a cackle of laughter. “You should see it. Lena looks like she wants to straddle you right there on the mat,” she stage-whispered.

Alex, who had made her way over, turned an about-face, nearly tripping over the mat in question. “Nope. I do not need to hear this conversation,” she declared loudly, before weaving her way back over to the kitchen and Lena’s expensive scotch.

Kara groaned and put her face in her hands for a moment. “What ‘m I gonna do?” she mumbled into her palms. She felt Maggie’s hands pull hers away from her face, but she kept her eyes shut.

“That all depends on what you want,” Maggie said, keeping hold of Kara’s hands. “Hey? Kara?”

Kara looked blearily over at Maggie. The alcohol in her system was catching up to her, and her eyes took half a second longer to reach Maggie’s face than she would’ve liked.

“Yeah?”

“Do you want her?”

“Maggie, I _swear_-”

“I don’t mean in that way, although that kind of goes with it. I mean, do you _want_ her? Do you want to _be with_ her?”

Kara dropped her head between her shoulders and groaned again.

“Think I do,” she replied quietly, alcohol loosening her tongue and giving her courage to voice the words she wanted to say. “Whenever we fall asleep on the sofa together I wanna take her to bed, y’know, not for _that_ right away, but to just hold her more and be cozy with her, and keep her safe because she deserves that and oh god Maggie, I want to kiss her so bad that I can’t think straight sometimes.”

The expression on Maggie’s face was sympathetic, but also gratified, as if she was glad that Kara had admitted these things out loud at last.

“I don’t know if she-”

Maggie put her hand on her knee and shook gently. “Kara?” She waited until Kara looked up at her again. “If it’s any help at all, I think she does. I really do. I think you should tell her how you feel. I’ve got to know her a bit better and she’s lovely, a lot nicer than I expected her to be, to be honest, and she really seems to care for you too. She’s got a really big heart and I think… I think she wants you to have it. Don’t throw away a chance at something that could be seriously great because you’re scared, okay? You two would be perfect together, and we all think that.”

“You all… you all know?”

Maggie smiled. “You two couldn’t keep a secret to save your lives. You’re both useless. But if it’s any consolation, I think she’s just as scared. From everything you’ve told me about her, and everything I know about her family, I think she’s afraid to get hurt by someone who matters so much to her. So if you… if you want to keep her safe, as you said, then you should do that. You need to tell her how you-”

The bathroom door opened and Lena came back out, putting one hand on the bookcase and the other on the wall to steady herself.

“What?” she asked, peering at them both through narrowed eyes as if it would help her focus her eyes better.

“Maybe not tonight, though,” Maggie said under her breath to Kara, before standing up. “Hey, Lena. We’re gonna head off soon, we’ve got a cab booked in ten minutes. We can take you back to your apartment, if you want. It’s on the way to ours.”

“Th-that would be great, thanks Maggie,” Lena said, stumbling a little over her words.

Kara stood up and moved over to her. “Come on, let’s find your shoes.”

“Hi Kara,” Lena said, reaching for her. “’m a bit drunk.”

“Think we all are,” Kara said, wrapping her arm around Lena’s waist. “Strong scotch you brought!”

“I like it,” Lena stated with a smile.

“I can tell,” Kara said.

“I-” Lena started, before stumbling a little over Kara’s foot. Kara’s hands shot out to steady her, pulling Lena none-too-gently against her so that she could balance a little easier, even though Kara was a bit worse for wear herself. She laughed to herself, bringing one hand up to tuck dark hair behind her ear. “I like _you_ too, Kara. Much more than the whisky.”

“Thanks, I think,” Kara replied, a smile tugging at her mouth.

“No,” Lena frowned, a serious look on her face. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that I- that, well, that I-”

“Wait, Lena,” Kara hated herself just a little bit for what she was about to do, but she did it anyway. She brought her hand up to Lena’s face, and cupped her cheek. “I think, whatever you’re about to say, you should say it when we’re both… when we’re sober, okay?”

Lena’s green eyes shone as she looked up at Kara. “Um. Okay. Can you… maybe, come over Sunday? I’m… probably going to be dying tomorrow. But on Sunday… I’m going to be at my… my other place. I’ll text you the address.”

Kara turned to Lena, clearing her throat before she leaned her forehead against Lena’s. “Yeah, Lena. I’ll be there,” Kara whispered, thinking that there was pretty much nothing that would be stopping her. They needed to have a conversation. She felt Lena’s hand dig its way into her hair, and they stood there for a moment, not moving. The air was thick around them, and Kara could feel her heart thudding in her chest, and everything in her wanted to pull Lena flush against her, to bury her hands in her hair, to feel just how soft Lena’s lips would be against hers.

“I hate to break this up, but… Lena? Are you coming?” Maggie called from across the apartment. Dimly at the back of her mind, she knew they weren’t alone in the apartment, but that hadn’t seemed to matter. Kara looked over at Maggie, who looked apologetic for interrupting.

“Come on,” Kara said softly to Lena, who nodded. They moved through the apartment, Winn having somehow already cleared up all the games and disappearing without her noticing, along with James. She’d have to try to remember to send them a message to say bye, since she’d apparently missed them.

“Oh,” Kara exclaimed as they reached the door. She darted as quickly as she could to her room and came back with a pair of sneakers, slightly too big for Lena, but a bit easier for her to walk in than the towering heels she’d arrived in. “Here.” Lena took them gratefully and shoved her feet into them, before looking up at Kara once more.

“Thank you,” she said, giving Kara another kiss on the cheek, her warm hand on Kara’s forearm.

A hug each from Alex and Maggie, along with a reminder to drink lots of water and a last drunken wave from Lena, and they were gone, leaving Kara alone in her apartment.

Tomorrow was going to suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Lena is testing that invisible line...
> 
> <3


	11. October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some terrible internet issues today; I'm sorry that this chapter is a little late! But it's over 9000 words long, so I hope you'll forgive me!

She was right; the day after the game night really did suck. By the time she’d managed to roll out of bed some time during the afternoon, her stomach had still been rolling badly and her teeth and tongue felt furry and gross. The one good point that she could see was that she had managed not to throw up yet, but that was about the only saving grace.

She spent the rest of the day with her face pressed into the sofa cushions with all the windows open, curtains closed, and wishing that she had some of sugary pastries to take the edge off her hunger. Every now and again, when she had the energy, she got up to move one of the armchairs back to where they should be, and then collapsed back down to the sofa, feeling sick.

What was worse, though, was that the time passed slowly. Every time she looked over at the clock on her wall, it only seemed to move mere minutes at a time. Aside from the fact that the longer time went, the better her hangover would get, the more pressing reason she wanted time to move faster was that she desperately needed to hear what Lena had to say.

Hope thudded in her heart after the night before. She was sure that Lena had been close to kissing her while they were playing Twister, although that wouldn’t have been the time she’d have picked to have their first kiss, if that’s what it was going to be. She’d imagined more… romance, than that. Or at least to not have an audience that consisted partly of her sister. But then again, they had both been drunk, and if Lena _did_ want to kiss her, she wouldn’t deny her wherever she was going to do it.

Some time on Saturday afternoon, she wrung her hands in her lap before turning her cell on from where it had been charging all morning. She’d forgotten to plug it in after falling drunkenly into bed, and it had died overnight. A wave of messages from Alex and Maggie appeared on her screen.

**Alex:** _ How much did Lena drink?! She’s gonna be feeling this in the morning. As soon as the cold air hit her, she was gone_

**Maggie:** _ Your girl’s asleep on the back seat of the cab and snoring loudly_

**Alex:** _ I want Chinese food_

**Alex:** _ That was meant for Maggie_

**Alex:** _ Why did I text her when she’s right here anyway?_

**Alex:** _ Thank duck for autocorrect because otherwise all these messages would be gibberish_

**Alex:** _ Duck_

**Alex:** _ Duck_

**Alex:** _ DUCK_

**Alex:** _ For duck’s sake I cannot_

**Maggie:** _ I feel like the only sober one out of all of you. Whatever scotch Lena brought was seriously strong_

**Maggie:** _ Hi Kara, just letting you know I’ve tipped Lena into bed and taken her shoes off, put a bowl on the floor next to her, made her drink loads of water, and left water and some medicine on her nightstand_

**Maggie:** _ It took us five tries to get through her front door. The security in this place is mental_

**Maggie:** _ I can’t believe I’ve seen the most powerful woman in National City tell her doorframe off for getting in her way_

**Maggie:** _ She just asked for you and looked seriously sad when I told her you weren’t here by the way_

**Alex:** _ I hope you’re not dead_

Kara stared at her phone for a moment, unsure of what to make of everything. Maggie’s casual use of _your girl_ though, made her heart skip a beat. My girl. How she wished Lena was exactly that.

She text Alex to tell her that she, luckily, wasn’t dead and Maggie to thank her for looking after Lena. She brought up Lena’s name in the messaging app and hesitated before starting to type.

**Kara:** _ Hey, I hope you’re feeling alright after last night?_

She sent the message before she could second-guess herself. While she was up on her feet, Kara moved over to the fridge and picked through it until she decided that ordering a huge greasy pizza would be a much better option than the ancient Chinese food that had been in there goodness knows how long. Her cell pinged with Lena’s text message chime and she had to force herself to walk slowly over to the sofa, eying the cell as if it was about to go off.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to read the reply, Kara thought, but she felt like their messages would be charged now with things they weren’t saying. And, even though this was Lena, she felt nervous.

She was nervous _because_ it was Lena. Her heart jumped into her throat when she picked up her cell and opened her messages. She had to ask Lena about coming over to her place the next day, and she felt her hands shake a little with adrenaline at the thought of it.

**Lena:** _ Hello darling. I’m definitely a little worse for wear but I managed to open the curtains two hours ago, so I’m going to count that as a tiny win :)_

**Kara:** _ Maggie said you fell asleep in the cab and snored_

**Lena:** _ …I’ll think I’ll have to have words with Maggie._

**Kara:** _ Sooo…_

**Lena:** _ So, Kara_

**Kara:** _ I’m sorry, I feel a bit nervous for some reason. What time should I come over tomorrow? And where is your other place?_

She could see that Lena had read the message, but no response was forthcoming. Kara willed the speech bubble to appear in the screen that would indicate that Lena was writing something, but it didn’t. Nothing happened. The seconds dragged past, and then minutes.

After ten minutes of glaring at her cell for daring to defy her this way, she put it down on the table next to the sofa and tried her best to ignore it and concentrate on the nature documentary that was on the TV.

Half an hour later, Lena’s message tone chimed again, and Kara nearly gave herself whiplash with how fast she dived across to her table. The sudden movement made her hungover head spin and her stomach churned. She paused for a moment, groaning and willing her stomach to settle, before she picked her cell up.

There were two messages. The first was the address of Lena’s other place, which was far out enough that Kara was definitely going to need to take a cab to get there instead of walking off her nerves. The second message was scarier.

**Lena:** _ There’s nothing to be nervous of, Kara, it’s just me. I’m just the same as I was before_

Well of course it was Lena, that’s why she was ner-

**Lena:** _ You were right, though. It wasn’t a conversation we should have had when we were that drunk. I’d rather we were both able to remember the things we said. Do you want to come over at say, 6? We can have dinner, and then talk_

**Lena:** _ If you don’t want to come over, I’ll understand. But I hope that you do. There are some things I’d like to say_

* * * * *

When Sunday morning dawned, Kara felt almost sick with nerves. To be fair, though, that could be her leftover hangover from yesterday. They were excited nerves, but nerves nonetheless. The whole day, she felt like she was on edge, jittery, and she moved around her apartment with jerky movements. She booked her cab for 5:15pm to allow for possible traffic, and spent the afternoon getting ready.

She didn’t want to be presumptuous, but she wanted to look… good for Lena this evening. She blow-dried her hair a little to give it volume, but she barely curled it, just leaving it fall in its natural waves before loosely pinning some of it back. She knew which dress she was going to wear – it was light yellow, sleeveless, hanging just above her knees. Kara slipped it on, knowing that the color suited her well, especially with her hair. She paired it with a small leather belt to accentuate her waist, and slipped on some brown strappy sandals to go with the belt.

The cab ride to Lena’s place took a while. There was heavy traffic, and in the end she had to text Lena to say that she’d be slightly late. At 6:10pm, the cab pulled up on a quiet street filled with trees all the way down the sidewalks, making most of the residences quite private. Kara pushed her way through the gate at Lena’s, noting that the garden was completely enclosed by trees on all sides, the only gap being a gate right in the corner. Stepping through it, she saw that there was a small rose garden in one corner, with multiple different colored roses waving in the slight breeze of the cool evening.

The house wasn’t very large, and the front was a simple white. Warm, inviting lights shone out of the windows onto the grass, giving the enclosed garden a welcoming feel rather than making it feel claustrophobic. She made her way up the path to the door and, shifting her weight from foot to foot, paused before she took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell.

Everything after this night could change. Kara was aware of that, and so it felt a little like she was stepping from one world to another, through a thin veil that nobody could see or feel. Raising a hand to the doorbell, she hesitated before she pressed it.

A moment passed before the door opened, revealing Lena with her hair loose around her shoulders. Her face split into a dimpled smile when her eyes landed on Kara, standing nervously in the porch, holding a bunch of plumeria flowers. All of Kara’s nerves vanished in a second, as if they’d never been there.

“Kara!” she greeted, moving forward and reaching her hand out rest on Kara’s upper arm, stroking her thumb over the skin gently. “Hello,” she said quietly. “I’m glad you came.”

“I- I brought these for you,” Kara said, looking down at the plumerias for a moment before holding them out towards Lena. “I remember that you love them.”

“I do love them,” Lena replied, the dimples in her cheeks deepening as her smile seemingly grew even more, and it took all of Kara’s willpower not to move forward to brush them with her fingertips. “I’ll put them in some water. Please, come in!” She stepped aside to let Kara pass, but as Kara stepped past Lena, she stopped to turn and kiss Lena on the cheek, reveling in the pretty blush that rose up on Lena’s cheeks.

Lena closed the door and indicated that Kara should follow her. She did, and chastised herself when she enjoyed the view of Lena walking away from her more than she should. Lena was wearing tight black jeans, a crisp black shirt, with a deep red tank top underneath it. The dark colors coupled with her loose hair and pale skin was quite dramatic, and Kara swallowed hard as she followed Lena down the corridor, feeling her mouth go dry.

She followed Lena into a small kitchen that was much more reminiscent of her own than the one in Lena’s palatial apartment downtown. Pans hung from the wall above the stove, the walls were exposed brick, and the furniture was all stained wood, with ring marks from bottles, mugs, and candles, she supposed. The kitchen seemed used and well loved. A radio in the corner played quiet jazz music.

At the deep sink, Lena rinsed out a vase and put the plumerias in it, arranging them carefully to make the most of them, and put them on the kitchen table, which had books piled haphazardly on one side of it.

Lena noticed Kara looking at the table and around the kitchen. “Would you like a tour?” she asked. “Dinner is almost ready, but it’s not a very big house, so it won’t take too long.”

Kara smiled at Lena’s eager face, and agreed. Lena held a hand out for her to take, and Kara stepped right up to her, making sure to entwine their fingers.

“I- okay,” Lena smiled, giving Kara’s fingers a quick squeeze. “I bought this house a few years ago. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but my apartment in town is kind of… impersonal. There’s nothing much of me there, but I wanted somewhere that felt more like a home. And this came up on the market. I looked at it once and fell in love. It was built at the turn of the last century, but I loved the bricks and the smaller rooms.” She pushed open a door in the entrance hallway, and pulled Kara in. “We’ll start with my favorite room.”

Kara looked in, and saw straight away why Lena loved it. It had fairly low ceilings, and the opposing walls were entirely given over to bookshelves made from a very dark wood. The bookshelves were heaving with books of all sorts; dusty old spines, their leather cracked with age. Modern classics. Journals messily piled up with sticky notes and pens sticking out of them, marking pages. What looked like whole sections on various local histories of Ireland, France, and Italy. One of the walls had a fireplace in the middle of it, and in front of it, two large, comfortable looking armchairs that Kara could tell would swamp Lena if she sat in one. Between them was a table with a small, old-fashioned lamp on it. In front of the window stood an ancient-looking writing desk, ink-stained and worn, with another old lamp casting warm light across it.

“It’s lovely, Lena,” she commented quietly, imagining Lena spending hours in here during the winter months, in front of the fire with hot chocolate and a stack of books.

She was shown the office, cluttered with Lena’s L-Corp folders and filing cabinets, two laptops on the desk and, looking a little out of place, a cork board hanging on the wall with various notices and electrical diagrams stuck to it. The wooden stairs creaked as they climbed them, Lena capturing her hand again as soon as Kara’s foot hit the top step. The bathroom here was much smaller than in Lena’s apartment, although there was still a double shower, and a claw-foot bath that Kara knew would be heavenly to sink into.

Kara was silent as Lena showed her around her home. It was clear that she loved it, and she used their joined hands to point out different art pieces that she’d chosen to decorate the walls, and the photos she’d taken that adorned the spaces where there were no paintings. Kara even spotted a few framed poems, copied out in Lena’s own elegant hand, poems that she evidently loved. She’d have to come back to read them more carefully, when she had more time.

The house was quiet as they walked through it, their footsteps and their breathing the only sounds as they explored. The air felt heavy with anticipation, at least, to Kara. She rubbed her thumb over the back of Lena’s hand and she in the stillness, she heard her breath hitch.

Lastly, they came to the door at the end of the hallway, and Lena opened it, letting Kara step into it. It was Lena’s bedroom, and Kara finally felt like she was seeing Lena at her most vulnerable. The room was simply decorated, with cream walls, white wainscoting, complimented with more exposed brick. The large bed looked soft, and was white, with multiple throw pillows that matched the colours of the room. A sofa sat at the end of the bed, a worn copy of _the Fellowship of the Ring_ with a bookmark sticking out of it resting on top of a fluffy blanket. On one of the walls hung the painting she’d done for Lena months ago after the second interview, and knowing that Lena had hung it in her most personal of spaces made Kara feel warm. She squeezed Lena’s hand, letting her know that she’d seen the painting, and she felt Lena’s thumb rub across the back of her hand in response.

There was a chest of drawers in one corner that held a lot of framed photos. Kara automatically moved over to them, leaving Lena standing by the doorframe, her arms crossed shyly over her chest as she watched Kara take in her private life.

Kara picked up a photo of Lena and Sam, posing by a statue somewhere in Europe, smiling at the goofy faces they were pulling at the camera. She put that down and picked one up that featured a teenaged Lena with her half-brother Lex. She peered at the photo. Lena was dressed darkly, her face softer in her youth, and they were both smiling. Kara wondered how far down the dark path Lex was at this point, and not for the first time, was sorry that Lena had lost her brother to such horrendous circumstances of his own making. She put the photo back down.

She felt Lena’s eyes on her, and looked over. She was still where Kara had left her, leaning against the doorframe, and Kara made her way over to her.

“I love your home, Lena,” she said quietly, sliding her arm around Lena’s waist when she reached her, sighing when she felt Lena automatically lean into her, a reflex that Lena had given into every time Kara had held her for months now.

“I’m glad,” Lena replied, her voice low. “This is actually the first time I’ve had someone here, other than Sam I mean. And she was only here to help me move in. It’s not big enough for her and Ruby to stay over here, since there’s only the one bedroom. So, really, you’re the first person I’ve… wanted to show my home to.”

Kara was touched, and for a person as private as Lena to willingly open her home to her was almost an honor. She said as much, and Lena looked up at her from the doorway, her eyes adoring and her smile tender, and Kara just… couldn’t help it. She couldn’t. In one movement, she tightened her arm around Lena’s waist and turned her so that they were face to face, bringing her other hand up to cup her cheek, using the heel of her palm to bring Lena’s face up and closer, until they were almost, _almost_-

“Lena, I…” she murmured, her breath hitching in desperation, not wanting to step over the line unless Lena was willing. “I-”

Lena brought her own hand up, trailing her fingers along Kara’s jaw, before they drifted into Kara’s hair and pulled her forward.

When their lips met, it was to the sound of a quiet whimper from the back of Lena’s throat. It was quick and chaste, as they tested the boundary between their friendship and the something else, something _more_ that Kara wanted so much. Everything about Lena was delicate right then, and Kara sighed; she was soft, so soft under her touch, and Kara brought her other hand up and cradled Lena’s face between them.

“You’re so beautiful,” she whispered against Lena’s lips, kissing them again before pulling back slightly so that she could look at Lena. Her eyes were shimmering happily, and as she watched, Lena squeezed them closed and rested her forehead against Kara’s for a moment, before she pulled Kara’s face to hers once more, her kiss insistent and almost demanding. Kara used her slim height advantage to dig her hands into Lena’s hair and pull down slightly, tilting Lena’s face up higher and causing her to groan.

Kara inhaled sharply at that, and pressed her body against Lena’s gently, moving them until she felt Lena’s back bump against the wall. Lena’s lips parted slightly, and Kara felt the briefest touch of Lena’s tongue on her sensitive bottom lip. Her fingers tightened in silky hair as she breathed out Lena’s name. The touch came again, and this time Kara met it. Lena tasted like dark chocolate and something else, something Kara couldn’t get enough of. Their kisses were slow, but deepening by the second, and Kara felt her body melt as Lena bit down lightly on Kara’s bottom lip before soothing it with her tongue.

She moved her hands down to Lena’s hips, and her thumbs under Lena’s tank top to touch bare skin just as she pushed her tongue back into Lena’s mouth. The dual sensation made Lena groan again, and shivers skittered down Kara’s spine at the sound of it. She made Lena sound like _that_… what other sounds could she pull out of the beautiful brunette?

Lena moved her hands down to Kara’s chest and pushed slightly, breaking the kiss, but keeping their faces close enough to feel each other’s breath on their lips. Her breath was coming heavily, and Kara kept her hands where they were, her thumbs on Lena’s warm skin, and she could feel Lena trembling under her touch.

“I guess we…” Lena tried, her voice hoarse with desire, “I guess that answers my question.”

“You haven’t asked one yet,” Kara replied, her own voice low and breathy.

Lena chuckled, before her face turned serious and she was closing the distance, kissing Kara again, her mouth hot and desperate, her hands moving to Kara’s shoulders and back into her hair, tangling it around her fingers. This time, Kara was the one to moan. 

When they came up for air a few minutes later, Kara’s hair was out of its pins and Lena’s was a tousled mess. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a more alluring sight in her life than Lena Luthor with her green eyes dark, her breath erratic, and her hands clenched into the material of Kara’s dress.

Slowly, Lena lifted one of her hands and brushed Kara’s bottom lip with her thumb.

“You had my lipstick all over you,” Lena said, the low timbre of her voice making heat soak throughout Kara’s body. She wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist, pressing a kiss to Lena’s forehead.

“So, your question?” Kara asked, clearing her throat gently. “What was it?”

“Oh, mmm,” Lena replied, smiling. “I wondered whether you had realized how I… well, I mean, I’m not very good at showing people how I feel.”

“I’m not gonna lie,” Kara said, squeezing Lena gently, “I did wonder for the longest time. I had no idea whether you were even into… I mean, I only had Jack to go off of, and I didn’t know who you tried dating, but on some level, I hated every one of them.”

Lena laughed, stroking Kara’s face. “That time I came to the bar and you had your arms around another woman-”

“I _knew_ it!” Kara exclaimed.

“What did you know?”

“That you were… uh, sad, or upset with me.”

“I was, I suppose, but it wasn’t your fault darling. I just wanted to be the one _you_ wanted, and I didn’t know how to tell you. I’m really not very good at this when it comes to someone who really matters to me, and you _do_. I mean, I’m not very affectionate with anyone, except with you. And I couldn’t seem to keep my hands off you when we were out somewhere. Or when we’re just alone, together. I can’t stop touching you,” Lena murmured. “It’s been months that I’ve been trying to tell you in some way, and I thought you didn’t want me.”

“Oh god,” Kara groaned. “We’ve both been complete idiots, haven’t we?”

“That damn game of Twister-”

“I thought you were going to kiss me. I did. I was dying... for you to kiss me, Lena,” she added, her voice low.

Lena couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from her face, and Kara could feel it when Lena pressed her lips to hers again. She seemed to be smiling with her whole body, and Kara basked in the happiness that radiated from Lena. Sweet and gentle Lena, who she was finally, _finally_ holding in her arms.

“I think dinner’s ruined,” Lena said suddenly, her voice somewhat serious.

A moment passed between them, before they both cracked up laughing. All the nervous energy and adrenaline from the evening seemed to escape at once, so that Kara laughed until she had to wipe tears from her cheeks, and Lena was hiccuping quietly. Kara reached over and took Lena’s face in her hands, kissing her quickly, leaving her breathless at the idea that she could just… do that, that she could reach over and kiss Lena now.

They made their way downstairs, hand in hand, and Lena scraped the contents of the saucepans into a compostable bag before ordering in a pizza. They spent the minutes before it arrived huddled up on the sofa together, enjoying the feeling of being able to hold each other. Lena didn’t want to seem to let go of Kara’s hand, and once they’d eaten their pizza, they put a movie on. Kara, wearing the more restrictive clothing, leaned up against Lena on the sofa, Lena’s arms around her waist, playing with her hands and stroking the insides of her wrists.

Kara found it hard to concentrate on the movie with Lena sitting right behind her, occasionally pressing kisses to her shoulders, or moving her hair and kissing her on the back of her neck. When she tried to twist around, Lena protested.

“Let me hold you, darling. I’ve wanted to for so long, I want to enjoy this.” Kara melted against her, willing to let Lena have what she wanted.

A few minutes later, Lena spoke again, her voice a little more serious and somewhat uncertain.

“You know… nothing has to change if you don’t want it to.”

“What?” Kara asked, confused by the insecurity of the statement.

“I mean, this could just be, I don’t know, a result of the game night or you… I don’t know, you’re so wonderful, Kara. Do you really want _me_, of all people?” Lena sounded a little bit disbelieving, as if she didn’t really think that Kara could possibly want _her_. Kara needed to dissuade her of that ridiculous notion immediately. 

“Lena,” Kara scolded lightly, leaning her head back on Lena’s shoulder so that she could look up into her worried green eyes. “I don’t know how to say this in a way that doesn’t come across really strongly, so I’m just gonna say it anyway. I want you. I want to be with you so much, in any way you can think of, okay? You’re kind, and beautiful, and thoughtful, and so many other good things. And you have access to the best donuts in the entire world-” Lena snickered – “and you’re all I’ve been able to think of for months now. I want to get to know you even better. I want to be there for you, and I want to keep you safe from things that could hurt you. I want to be your person.”

Lena’s face glowed with happiness, and she scooted down the sofa so that she could kiss Kara.

“The other night,” Kara murmured, “Maggie referred to you as my girl.”

“Yeah, she’s actually… she’s talked to me a few times, about you,” Lena admitted. “She’s been a really good listener. And I’ve already had the shovel talk from Alex.”

Kara was aghast. “What?! When?”

“About a month ago at a bar we were at.”

Kara put her face in her palms. “She hasn’t done that for years, honestly.”

“She must think I’m special,” Lena said, preening a little and making Kara smile.

“You are.”

“Anyway,” Lena said, drawing the word out before kissing Kara on the cheek. “I don’t let anyone into my life the same way that I’ve let you in, Kara Danvers. And I wondered if you’d like to join me in seeing where we go from here.”

“There’s no one I’d rather go on that journey with, Lena Luthor.”

* * * * *

Kara wanted their first official date to be different. The problem was that there was almost nothing she could think of that would be really original. As well that, it crossed her mind that Lena had more money than most people combined, so there was nothing much off-limits to her. This worried Kara for a split second before thinking back on the time they’d spent together over the past months and realising that what Lena really liked best was just spending time with her, even if that was just sitting on her sofa in their sweats eating donuts. She was coming to learn that Lena was actually fairly easily-pleased, in a good way. It didn’t take a lot to make Lena Luthor smile.

In the end, while sitting on her sofa watching Netflix spooning ice cream into her mouth, she realized she was overthinking it. She’d clearly already made a good impression on Lena, and although she still wanted to do that, it wasn’t with the same pressure a standard first date would normally have.

Kara hit upon an idea. Calling Lena an hour before she picked her up and telling her to dress down, they climbed into a cab together outside Kara’s apartment and went to a small fairground on the outskirts of National City. The way Lena’s eyes shone when she realized where they were told Kara that she’d chosen well, and she attempted to impress Lena at all the old-fashioned games that the park specialized in; the ring toss, hooking ducks, and throwing coconuts at tin cans. It turned out that her aim was pretty good at the coconuts, and she ended up winning Lena a giant stuffed teddy bear, which she promptly named Ralph, kissing Kara right on the mouth in front of the booth.

Going through the distorted mirrors was funny, especially in the days of cell phones with cameras in them. They got many a funny photo of each other with seemingly three feet tall foreheads, super-long arms, and Ralph the bear looking menacingly gigantic behind them while they looked tiny in comparison.

Kara bought them cups of hot cider and they warmed their hands on them as the night air turned colder while they wandered around. Well, Lena had one warm hand, at any rate; her other arm was wrapped tightly around Ralph as if she were afraid to drop him.

“You know, I haven’t been to a fairground since I was very young,” Lena confided, taking a sip of her cider.

“Really?” Kara asked, spotting a free bench and pulling them over to it.

“Mmhmm,” Lena replied, leaning back on the bench with Ralph on her lap and looking for all the world like a teddy bear with an extra pair of legs sticking out of the bottom. “Lillian thought they were a waste of time that could be better spent learning something else. I took piano lessons instead of doing anything social while I was home from boarding school and college.”

“What about when you were in college, though?” Kara mused, before remembering something. “Hey, back when we first met and we did that terrible interview, you told me that you got in some trouble that Lillian never knew about. Care to share? This seems like the kind of thing you’d discuss on a first date, right?”

Lena looked over at her with pursed lips and raised her left eyebrow at her, and Kara’s legs turned to jelly even though she was already sitting down. “Did I ever tell you about that time I dyed my hair purple, snuck out, and went to a Slipknot gig when I was 17?”

“Slipknot?! _Purple_ hair?!” Kara choked on her cider.

Lena clapped her on the back, and Kara’s eyes watered. “Yeah, purple hair, well, at first. There were multiple colors, sometimes simultaneously. Slipknot are a great band-”

“Can you even understand anything they’re saying?”

“Yeah,” Lena replied, simply. _Oh_. Well then. “Anyway. I got drunk and I was in the mosh pit near the stage. Someone picked me up and I ended up crowdsurfing until I ended up near the back, at the bar. I landed at the feet of a hot girl and, well, that’s how I met my first girlfriend.”

“Oh my _god_-”

“You’ve got to start somewhere, right?” Lena said, a glint in her eye as she looked at Kara. The effect Lena was going for was lost a little because she was sitting there cuddling a giant teddy bear, and she leaned forward quickly and kissed the brunette, surprising her into a giving a little contented sigh.

“Come on,” Kara murmured, holding out her hand for Lena to take. “Let’s go and walk around some more. I want to hear about some of your other rebellions.”

Lena smiled, taking Kara’s hand and throwing her empty cider cup into the nearest bin. “Well. Have I told you about the time I got a tattoo?”

Kara choked on her cider again, stopping in the middle of the path to dramatically thump herself in the chest. “You have a tattoo?!”

“Play your cards right and you might see it one day,” Lena tossed over her shoulder, with another raise of her eyebrow and a wicked smile.

* * * * *

These days, when Kara visited Lena at L-Corp for their lunches, Jess was always happy to see her.

“I’ve never seen Lena smile so much, Miss Danvers,” she confided one day while Kara was waiting for Lena to get off the phone.

“You’re smiling too, Jess,” Kara replied. “Have you seen Chip lately?”

Jess blushed. “Actually… we have a date on Friday night!”

“What?” Kara yelped. “Really?!”

Just then, Lena popped her head around the door. “Did I hear you right? You’re finally going on a date with Chip?” Jess nodded. “Well. Take Friday afternoon off after lunch. Goodness knows I’ve watched you two dance around each other for so long that I need this date to go well as much as you do.”

“Oh, thank you Lena!” Jess exclaimed, and Lena nodded, going back into her office. Just as Kara was about to open the door to the office, Jess spoke again, looking pointedly at her. “I was about to stage an intervention between you two, you know.”

Kara’s lips twitched as she fought back a smile before heading into Lena’s office.

“Jess deserves a raise,” Kara said, putting the lunch she’d brought with her down on the desk and hugging Lena.

“I know. She’s getting one at the end of the month, in fact. Wait… is that Big Belly Burger? You are my favorite person,” Lena said, beaming at Kara even as she reached for the bag on her desk. “I have been craving a cheeseburger all day.”

Kara smiled and pulled a cheeseburger towards herself as well.

It had only been a few weeks, but things had been going well between herself and Lena. Neither of them wanted to rush anything; Kara was secure in the knowledge that she wanted to be with Lena, and that Lena wanted to be with her. They kept up their worktime lunches as usual, and spent time at each other’s apartments having movie nights. But now, when they climbed onto the sofa together, they purposely sat curled up in each other’s arms, trading gentle kisses and often ignoring the movie just to revel in the fact that they could spend time with each other instead.

Kara learned that Lena was ticklish on one side of her stomach, and whenever Lena refused to tell her where the donuts came from, she would employ this knowledge and tickle Lena until they inevitably ended up forgetting all about the donuts.

None of their friends were surprised to find out that they’d made their relationship official. In fact, everyone except Winn seemed to be shocked that they hadn’t already done so. They’d kept it to themselves until now, sharing the change in their relationship only with each other. Showing up at the next games night at Alex’s place hand in hand had invited all the gentle good-natured ribbing that they’d expected, along with a cheer from Maggie, who’d poured Lena a shot and clinked glasses with her.

“To dating one of the Danvers sisters. Good luck to us both,” Maggie grinned.

They were a formidable pair when it came to game night as well, it turned out. Kara’s knowledge of pop culture and music filled the gaps in Lena’s more practical knowledge, and there was hardly a category that they couldn’t come up with the answer to. They were each other’s perfect games night partner, complimenting each other superbly. Winn was despairing of ever winning another trivia game, but whenever the group met outside of game night, he was apt to ask Lena about chess strategies in the hopes of beating her at some point. Privately, Kara thought that he had no chance at all, but she looked forward to their next game.

Nobody had dared to challenge her at pool since her performance that one time, but she knew that Maggie was raring for a chance to prove herself at bowling. Their first proper outing as a couple with their friends was to the bowling alley, where Maggie threw down the gauntlet. Her only stipulation was that each of them had to drink three or four shots before beginning, which only served to make them both as rubbish as each other, throwing more gutter balls than anything else, but they howled with laughter anyway.

It made Kara feel warm inside to see Lena being accepted into their group of friends with no more difficulty than anyone else. She was glad, because Lena had admitted to her that she didn’t really have friends before, but that wasn’t the case now. She had Kara, and through Kara she was building a new group around her. Kara hoped that in time as she got to know them better, Lena would consider them her family, like she did. Alex had warmed beyond all measure to Lena, despite her misgivings when Kara had been getting to know Lena near the beginning of the year. She knew her sister would have Lena’s back if she needed it, and the thought made her smile.

Both Maggie and Alex often casually called Lena _Luthor_, and although at the beginning she had seen Lena wince quietly to herself, the more they said it, the less it seemed to bother her, until now it made her smile. After all, they often called Maggie _Sawyer_, and both Danvers sisters were referred to by their last name often by Maggie. Kara thought that it probably made Lena feel a little more included, and hey, if it helped offset the thought of her last name making people uncomfortable, then it was all for the good.

* * * * *

“Kara, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about our Hallowe’en night out! We all took the Friday off so that we weren’t drinking on a school night,” Alex said, disappointment on her face. They were ensconced on the sofa underneath a pile of blankets, watching _Seven Brides for Seven Brothers_, one of the only musicals that Alex could tolerate, for Kara’s sake.

“I- I didn’t forget entirely, just um, a little bit. Lena and I were going to have a horror movie night-”

“Oh, just bring her with you, you can watch movies later,” Alex interrupted. We’re meeting at the club at 11pm, don’t forget. And our theme is _who you were in high school_.”

Kara whined, feeling like she could roll her eyes all the way to China. “Alex…”

“It’ll be fine, Kara. You were almost the same you are now, just a bit more… musical theater.”

“I don’t know how to dress like _musical theater_-”

“Luckily, there is one other thing you did in high school that I could easily get you a costume for…”

“Oh _no_, Alex-”

* * * * *

The only way that Alex could get Kara into her costume was to give her three shots before revealing it and getting Maggie, who was dressed rather hilariously as a cheerleader (“it was _one summer_, Alex! It was this or a goddamn _swimsuit_!”) to block the door. Once she was dressed, she gingerly picked at the costume. She couldn’t believe Alex had managed to find something quite so gaudy, and she’d had to buy pants in addition, which were bright red. Oh well, she thought morosely, at least her feet weren’t going to hurt, since she would be wearing patent leather shiny shoes. Her hair was twisted up easily in a few pins.

“Is Lena coming here first?” Alex asked.

“No, she got home late from work so she’s going to get dressed at home and meet us there,” Kara replied, trying to cram her cell phone, some cash, and her apartment key into her pockets.

“Alright,” Alex replied, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. She was dressed as a scientist, but had a sign on her back saying _too drunk to do my experiments_ on her back, a nod to the fact that she was indeed, often too drunk to do her experiments late on in high school. “Well, I’m sure she’ll let us know when she gets there.”

“We were meant to be there ten minutes ago, Alex,” Kara said, looking at the clock and resisting the urge to shove Alex out the door with only one shoe on.

“If you hadn’t taken so long to put your costume on, we’d be there already,” Alex said, rolling her eyes. “Hey, what’s Lena going to be wearing? I don’t think you’ve ever said what she was like in high school.”

Kara frowned. Now that she thought about it, she wasn’t sure what Lena _was_ like in high school. She’d never really gone, since she’d been in boarding school in Ireland, and she was pretty sure that would have been quite different to an American high school.

From the sofa, Maggie piped up with a grin, “I bet she was a total dweeb. Straight As, never a foot out of place. Et cetera.”

“I don’t think anyone has said dweeb in about a decade Maggie,” Kara said, rolling her eyes, opening her messaging app so she could text Lena to find out whether she was there yet.

**Kara:** _ Hey, are you at the club yet?_

She didn’t have to wait long for a response.

**Lena:** _ Yeah, I got here about fifteen minutes ago and I’m already on my second drink. Are you going to be here soon? :)_

**Kara:** _ Hopefully! Just waiting for Alex to get a move on. What are you wearing? ;)_

**Lena:** _ That’s for me to know and you to find out, darling_

* * * * *

Kara could feel the pulsing bass of the music before they’d even got inside the building. They managed to bypass the majority of the queue because the bouncer was someone Kara knew slightly, a woman called Leslie, nicknamed Livewire who, while small, had a way of sneering and scowling at the same time that made most people back off if they were subjected to it. Beyond that, Kara knew that Livewire was basically a ball of coiled energy that was just waiting to burst out. She didn’t fancy any drunk’s chances against her. Livewire raised both her eyebrows at Kara’s costume and pointed at her.

“Don’t you say a word,” Kara warned her as she passed.

Once they were inside, Kara tried to keep her eyes peeled for Lena. It was very dark inside, and it didn’t help that exactly nobody looked like they usually did. The dancefloor was large and crowded with bodies, and it was hot. The bass reverberated through the floor and up through her body, and the DJ was playing some house or trance music that Kara didn’t recognize, but it made her want to dance.

Someone poked her in the back and she turned around to see Alex gesturing at her. She was also saying something, but Kara couldn’t hear a word over the music. Alex mimed having a drink, and Kara nodded, taking Alex’s hand and leading her and Maggie through the people on the dancefloor. It was a sweating mass of people, and Kara was pretty sure that she’d stepped on quite a few trailing items from people’s costumes.

They made it to the bar in one piece, where the music was a little quieter, so that the bartenders could hear the orders, Kara supposed. Maggie left for the bathroom, and Kara ordered her and Alex a beer, herself a double vodka and lemonade, and for Lena an Old Fashioned. By the time Lena’s drink was made, Kara had already finished hers, thanks to the club being so hot and her not exactly skimpily dressed. She ordered a second drink for herself, and paid.

They waited near the bar for Maggie to come back from the bathroom, Alex not fancying her chances at hearing her cell go off with the music at the volume it was. When Maggie eventually found them, she looked a little shellshocked.

“Maggie?” Alex shouted, leaning close so Maggie could hear her.

“Have you guys seen Lena yet?” Maggie shouted back.

“No!” Kara bellowed. “Have you?”

In answer, Maggie stuck her thumb over her shoulder. Kara looked, but she wasn’t sure, at first, what she was looking for. A white lab coat, a mathletes jacket, a clipboard. Hell, the brunette dressed up as a library card wouldn’t have been a shocker.

Beside her, Alex gaped.

Lena was making her way towards them, and Kara realised why she hadn’t been able to see her. The club was very dark, and Lena was wearing all black. That in itself wouldn’t have been unusual; Lena wore a lot of black for work. But this was different.

Kara’s astounded eyes roved over Lena as she made her way to them. She was wearing a corset with a flowing mesh top over it, with long sleeves that fell past her hands, black polish on her nails, and a mesh hood that she had raised over her head. Her wrists had what looked like heavy studded leather armbands halfway to her elbows and, golly, were those _spikes_ on some of them? As Lena got closer, Kara could see the purple ribbons in her corset. Her black trousers were ripped with fishnet stockings showing through the holes. She was wearing enormous boots with several sets of buckles up the side that looked like they could break someone’s fingers with barely any pressure from Lena’s toes.

The pale skin of Lena’s face was accentuated by the black lipstick and dramatic eye makeup she had on, flaring down towards her cheekbones. The effect on her eyes was striking – they looked greener than ever, and surrounded by so much black, they drew Kara’s eyes to them like a magnet. She was helpless to do anything but stare at Lena as she approached, somehow making moving through the seething mass of bodies look elegant.

Kara was certain that not a single person would’ve recognized Lena Luthor, billionaire CEO of L-Corp and most powerful woman in National City, right now.

The beat of the music pulsed through Kara’s body and she felt her body heat increase for a reason that had nothing to do with how hot the club was. Lena’s walk over had only taken maybe ten seconds at most, but Kara felt like she’d watched her approach in slow motion.

When Lena neared her, Kara could see her eyebrow was raised and the corners of her mouth were quirked up in a smile. Lena’s boots gave her a few inches in height, and she was equal to Kara, if not slightly taller since her own leather shoes were so flat. As soon as Lena was within arm’s reach, she took hold of Lena’s outstretched hand and pulled Lena flush against her.

“Marching band, huh?” Lena said right into her ear, the sensation making Kara shiver despite the heat. Lena trailed her lips across Kara’s jawline as her hands made their way up from Kara’s hips and across the braiding on Kara’s chest, before Lena’s lips landed on hers in a demanding open-mouthed kiss, going straight for the kill, and Kara clutched desperately at the ribbons on Lena’s back with her free hand. The brunette leaned back slightly so she could get a better look at her, and her fingers moved across the braiding on Kara’s chest. “I always did love it when a girl played an instrument.”

Kara swallowed hard. Mesmerized by Lena’s eyes, she forgot she had two drinks in one hand until Alex clinked the glass with her beer bottle. Snapping out of it, Kara held up the drinks. “For you,” she said to Lena, handing over the Old Fashioned. She blushed when Lena looked at her from under her eyelashes as she took a slow sip, not taking her eyes off Kara’s.

“Hey, Lena!” Alex shouted, moving forward. “Great costume!”

“These are my own clothes,” Lena replied, looking down at her corset and sweeping her arm across herself. “I haven’t worn these boots for a while, but-”

“You look fucking hot, Lena,” Maggie said. “Anyone want another drink?” Everyone shook their heads. “Suit yourselves! Come on Alex, keep me company,” and she pushed Alex in the direction of the bar. Kara looked over and saw that the bar was quite busy. They’d be there a while.

She turned her eyes back to Lena, who was watching her. Kara let her eyes travel over Lena’s clothes once more, reaching out to brush under Lena’s sleeve and up onto the bracelets she had there, poking the spikes with her fingertips.

“The goth girl and the marching band geek,” Kara said when she leaned close enough for Lena to hear her. “Lena, you look… you…”

“Finish your drink and come dance with me,” Lena replied, her voice dangerously seductive in the darkness of the room, her eyes the only light thing about her as the club’s colored spotlights swept over them. Kara downed her drink while Lena took the last sip of hers, before moving through the crowd to place them on the end of the bar. Turning back around, Lena was right where she left her.

_God_, she looked so good. Kara groaned to herself, knowing nobody could hear her anyway, and moved towards Lena. The brunette held her hand out and Kara felt large (and long?) rings beneath her fingers. Together they pushed through the other bodies on the dance floor, making their way close to the other edge of it, where there was a little bit more room. The music was loud, some kind of bass house music Kara didn’t know, and there were no words for her to sing along to.

Before she could turn to face Lena, she felt her press up against her from behind, two pale hands sliding from her hips under her jacket and slowly across her bare stomach, and she tensed her abs in response. She heard Lena inhale sharply next to her ear, and she pulled Kara flush against her front. Kara had no idea how to dance to this kind of music, but behind her, Lena began to sway her hips slowly back and forth, keeping her hands on her stomach, the pressure of her fingers indicating which direction Kara should move.

Once Kara was moving without prompting, Lena let go with her right hand, but Kara caught it, entwining their fingers. Lena brought her arm up and wrapped it under Kara’s arm and across to her other shoulder, effectively trapping her against Lena, forcing them to move as one body. The beat from the music thudded in her chest and the alcohol she’d drunk too quickly rushed through her system, making her feel bolder. She pushed back against Lena’s hips, and in answer, Lena’s arms tightened around her as she pushed back against Kara, and she felt Lena’s lips on her neck, kissing her way down from behind her ear to just above her collar. When she felt Lena’s teeth nip her skin before soothing the sting with her tongue, Kara groaned again, leaning her head back onto Lena’s shoulder.

The angle was awkward, but right now, Kara didn’t care. She turned her head to search for Lena’s lips and found them. Suddenly Lena was in front of her, both of her hands cupping Kara’s jaw as she swiped her tongue against Kara’s top lip. Kara met her halfway; Lena tasted like expensive whisky and Kara gripped her hips possessively. The sounds of the club faded to the background as Kara lifted one hand, digging into Lena’s loose hair and pulling on it. 

The lights from the club flashed around them, occasionally illuminating their faces as they swayed together to the music on the dancefloor, too caught up in each other to pay attention to anything else.

When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing heavily and although they were still moving, Kara was not thinking about dancing anymore. All the moisture in her body had shot south, and there was a pressure between her hips that even Lena’s body pressed up against her couldn’t alleviate. Even though they’d been dating for a few weeks by this point, they hadn’t indulged in anything more than kissing, not wanting to rush into things. But now, with Lena’s head resting on her shoulder and her arms around her waist, Kara wanted Lena. She _wanted_ her. Wanted to hear her whisper her name and touch pale skin with her tongue.

Kara took hold of one of Lena’s hands and held it in both of hers. She looked up at Lena and even in the darkness of the club, she could see that Lena’s pupils were blown, and if the way she was biting down on her lip was any indication, she was in just as much of a state as Kara was. As the light passed over Kara’s face, Lena reached up and wiped some of her lipstick away from the corner of Kara’s mouth, her smile provocative enough that Kara leaned forward and brushed her lips against Lena’s, moving away when Lena tried to chase her, and even over the music, Kara heard her frustrated whimper.

Kara tipped her wrist, squinting to see her watch in the dark. It was 00:17am, November 1st.

She slid her hands slowly around Lena’s waist, moving them down until they were _just_ this side of decently placed, before pulling Lena flush against her. She kissed her way along Lena’s jaw, moving her lips slowly up to her ear and flicking her tongue along the shell of it before murmuring, “do you want to get out of here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that! :) only took them, what, ten months to sort it out, the useless oblivious lovable fools <3
> 
> Part of the next chapter, if it wasn't obvious from how hot under the collar both Lena and Kara are at the club, will be where this story earns the M-rating I gave it. If that's not your thing, well, you have been warned! :)


	12. November

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder that a large section of this chapter is M-rated!

Kara led Lena out of the club, weaving their way through the crowded dancefloor and collecting their coats before heading out into the relatively fresh air of the street outside. There were a few people outside, but not enough to cause her any concern about not catching a cab.

She shivered as the cold air whistled down the street and onto the overheated skin of her face. Lena’s clothes were a lot thinner than hers, and she looked over to watch as Lena shrugged herself into her long black coat, moving her hair to one side before pulling the hood up. The coat was as dramatic as the rest of Lena’s clothes; tapered at the waist and with deep purple satin lining, it was halfway between a cape and what Kara could only describe as what she imagined a forest witch might wear in winter. It fit Lena like a glove, accentuating her figure beautifully.

“Should we tell Alex and Maggie that we’re leaving, darling?” Lena asked, buttoning up her coat before shuffling towards her, looping her arm through Kara’s, and pressing a kiss to Kara’s cheek.

“Good point, I’ll send them a text,” she replied, not surprised to see her breath in clouds in front of her face. It was a really cold night. She fished her cell out of her pocket and started to compose a message. “Hey,” she murmured, leaning in and pressing her spare hand to Lena’s cheek, causing her to close her eyes. Kara’s heart warmed at how such a simple gesture could mean so much to both of them. “Where… where should I say we’re going? Are we-”

“To my home,” Lena said quietly, opening her eyes to look at Kara. “My home, not my apartment. It’s closer, and it’s, well, more homely. And I think I’d like to wake up there with you.”

Kara smiled, and heedless of the people around them, pulled Lena’s face gently towards her so that she could kiss her. “Okay,” she murmured against Lena’s lips. She finished the text to Alex, letting them know where they were going, and they moved up the street a little from everyone else so that they could hail a cab a little easier.

They stood together on the street, and Kara wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist, Lena’s hands between them, resting on Kara’s upper chest. She felt Lena shivering even through her clothes, and she rubbed her hands up and down Lena’s back while they waited.

As chilly as it was outside, Kara still felt boiling hot inside. It was taking everything she had to keep her hands to herself, considering they were in public. “How far away from here is your house?” she asked Lena.

“It’s maybe a ten minute drive if the traffic is good,” Lena replied, before stepping out of Kara’s arms and sticking her fingers in her mouth, whistling shrilly and waving her other arm as a cab came down the street towards them.

Kara stared at Lena. It was even louder now than it had been in the circus. “I never could do that,” she said, miming the whistling.

“S’easy,” Lena said, opening the cab door for Kara to climb into when it stopped to the side of them. She clambered across the seats and buckled herself in while Lena climbed in gracefully and gave her address to the cab driver. He showed no sign of recognizing Lena at all, which didn’t surprise Kara, considering how Lena was dressed. Once she was settled in her seat, Lena pushed her coat hood down, and then pulled the mesh hood off as well. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, and she brushed it out of her face, before looking over at Kara and sending her a smile so bright that it made Kara’s heart speed up in her chest.

She slid her hand across the seat to Lena, who held her hand in both of hers. There was no privacy in the cab at all, so neither of them scooted over to sit next to each other. They didn’t talk much at first on the drive over to Lena’s place, but Lena occupied herself by running her fingertips across Kara’s palm and gently touching as much of Kara’s wrist as she could. Kara’s wrists were sensitive, and after a few minutes, it felt like her skin was on fire, and she was squirming in her seat.

Lena shot her an evil little smile, and Kara narrowed her eyes at her, knowing that Lena knew exactly what her actions were doing to her. Lena lifted her hand up and pressed a kiss into her palm before interlocking their fingers.

The cab ride was torture for Kara, having Lena sitting so close and not being able to do much about it other than hold Lena’s hand, and she was sure that it was for Lena as well. The longer the ride went on, the thicker air between them became, and Kara found herself stealing glances at Lena so often that she might as well have turned in her seat and looked at her. Lena’s profile shone as the streetlamps flashed overhead, and not for the first time, she thought that Lena’s jawline could probably cut glass, especially while her pale skin was emphasized by the dark clothes that she was wearing. When Lena tucked her hair behind her ear, Kara noticed for the first time that Lena had a row of studs running halfway up the shell of her ear; she’d never seen Lena wear so many earrings before, and she reached her hand up to move some more of Lena’s hair so she could take a closer look.

“How many have you got here?” Kara asked, touching the top of Lena’s ear and making her shiver in response.

“Five in my right ear, four in my left, and two of them are conch piercings,” Lena replied, turning her head obligingly far to the right so that Kara could see properly and pointing at them.

“Ouch, those ones look like they’d be painful,” Kara commented, looking at the studs.

“They weren’t that bad. My tongue piercings were worse, for some reas-”

“Tongue piercings?!” Kara spluttered, interrupting Lena, her whole body seeming to clench in response. “What?”

Lena gave her a quick smile. “I had three, but they’ve all closed up now. I was thinking about having one of them done again but I’m not sure how well it would go down with the board members of L-Corp.”

“Well, I- um… if you wanted to get it done again, I think that would be… er, good,” stammered Kara. _God_, this was embarrassing. Her reaction to Lena having tongue piercings in the past was immediate and she had to work hard to suppress her urge to kiss Lena senseless in the back of the cab.

Lena shot her a look that said she knew exactly what that revelation had done to Kara, and she raised an eyebrow at her.

“You are such a surprising woman,” Kara breathed out, once she’d reasonably got her faculties back together.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, in so many ways. I think you could’ve knocked Alex over with a feather tonight when you showed up looking like… that.”

“Is that right?” Lena asked wryly. “Did she expect me to show up looking like a science geek?”

“Something along those lines,” Kara murmured. “To be honest, so did I.”

Lena slapped her gently on the arm. “I just told you a few weeks ago that I snuck out and dyed my hair purple to see Slipknot live! For the record, I am not dying my hair purple any time soon.”

“Aw, shame.”

The cab started to slow as it turned into Lena’s street, and she pulled a fifty dollar note out of her pocket, waving aside Kara’s attempts to help pay with her ringed hand. When she cab stopped, she told the cab driver to keep the change and climbed out. Kara hovered on the sidewalk, waiting for Lena to unlock her gate, and followed Lena through it into the enclosed garden.

As soon as they were out of sight of the street, Lena grabbed Kara by the lapels of her coat and pulled her close, pressing her lips firmly against Kara’s, making her stagger a little before she caught herself, wrapping her arms around Lena’s waist. They made their way towards the front door without letting go of each other, hands fisted in each other’s clothes. Their kisses were sloppy, but now that they were free from the restraints of the cab, all their repressed anticipation came to the surface and spilled over. By the time it came to Lena trying to put her key in the door, her hand was shaking, and Kara gently helped her to steady it.

When they stepped into the silent hall and the door closed behind them, locking out the cold night air, Kara felt a sudden shyness descend over her. She toed her shoes off and kicked them against the wall. Lena opened the door in the hallway that contained a small washroom, heading in so that they could both wash their hands, still sticky from the bar. Kara dried her hands on the towel while Lena wiped her makeup off, leaving her face looking softer. The simple acts made Kara smile. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but watching Lena slowly expose herself to her, even if it was just her face, was moving in a way that struck her as meaningful. She stepped up behind Lena, and pulled her hair away from her face to make it easier for her. Lena smiled at her in the mirror, leaving her rings on the sink, before finishing up and stepping away.

When they were back in the stillness of the hallway, Kara pulled Lena towards her and ran her hands into her hair, giving her a slow, closed-mouth kiss while she stroked the skin by Lena’s ears with her thumbs. Lena melted into her, returning the kiss with one hand on Kara’s neck and the other wandering under Kara’s coat.

“Kara,” Lena whispered against Kara’s lips. “Kara, I…”

“Yes?”

In answer, Lena rested her forehead against Kara’s, and moved her hands down to unbutton Kara’s coat and pulling it off, revealing the ridiculous marching band jacket that Alex had dug up from somewhere. Lena’s hands explored the braids on it again, and Kara could feel her fingertips pressing into the fabric. “You look like a tin soldier,” Lena said, smothering a giggle.

Kara looked down at herself, and wasn’t able to suppress her own laughter. “It’s like Alex deliberately went out to find the most garish jacket she could possibly find,” she said, unbuttoning the top of the jacket to make it a bit looser.

Lena stilled.

“What?” Kara asked, noticing the change in Lena’s demeanor.

Lena was looking at the skin Kara had exposed. Slowly, she reached up and undid another button, and then another. Kara felt her breathing quicken, and Lena slid her hand under the jacket and against the bare skin of Kara’s upper chest towards her collarbone. Lena’s green eyes darkened, and she withdrew her hand, holding it out to Kara, who took it.

Lena led them up the stairs and down the dark hallway towards her bedroom, closing the door behind them. Moonlight streamed in through the windows, the almost ghostly natural light making Lena’s pale skin glow. Kara watched as Lena moved around the bedroom, lighting a few candles on the nightstands. “I want to be able to see you,” Lena explained quietly, “but the overhead light is too bright.” When she was finished, she stood near the window, pulling on her fingers in front of her stomach.

Kara recognized the signs of nervousness despite Lena’s boldness on the dancefloor and in the garden just downstairs, and made her way over to her. She took her glasses off and set them on the dresser. “Hey,” she said, stopping the movement of Lena’s hands and placing them on her own waist instead.

Lena’s thumbs brushed under Kara’s jacket and against her skin again, and shivers ran down Kara’s spine at the gentle touch.

“Would you prefer to play a board game? Because we can, if you want to.”

Lena chuckled, sliding her hands fully under the jacket and onto the planes of Kara’s lower back. “No, I don’t want to play a game. I’m just… it’s been a long time since this has mattered so much to me. You matter to me, Kara Danvers. And I guess I feel a little…”

“Shy?”

Lena nodded. She pulled her hands out from under Kara’s jacket, and Kara felt the loss immediately, until Lena threaded her fingers through her hair, finding the pins holding her hair up and removing them one by one, until Kara’s golden hair fell down around her shoulders. Lena put the pins down on her dresser and stood in front of Kara, her eyes moving slowly from her face to her hair, to her shoulders, before following the path with her hands.

Lena carded her fingers through Kara’s hair, making Kara’s skin break out in gooseflesh in response, before soft fingertips trailed across her face and down her neck. Lena’s eyes snapped up to Kara’s before her fingers found the buttons of Kara’s jacket, slowly undoing all of them before pushing the jacket aside a little, revealing a stretch of Kara’s stomach and her bra. She’d forgone a shirt under the jacket, thinking that it would be too hot in the club, and now, she was very glad, because Lena’s eyes were like saucers as she took in the expanse of skin before her. Instinctively, Kara flexed a little and even in the low light, she could tell Lena’s eyes had darkened before green eyes flew up to meet blue.

Kara leaned forward and kissed Lena briefly before she knelt down to unzip Lena’s boots. “I want you to know,” she said, pulling one boot off when Lena lifted her leg up, “that you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” When Lena was bootless, Kara stood up slowly, running her hands up the sides of Lena’s legs, up her thighs, and pulled her mesh top off as her hands reached the hem. “But more than that, you are kind, and gentle, and so thoughtful,” Kara ran her hands down Lena’s bare arms to her hands, turning them palm up and facing hers so that she could interlock their fingers, “and you’re a woman that deserves to be taken care of.”

The flickering light of the candles cast shadows over Lena’s face, and her smile was bright. Her lips met Kara’s, and delicate hands pushed Kara backwards until her knees hit the bed so that she sat down, craning her neck upwards so that she could keep kissing Lena, even as hands pushed away her jacket and threw it towards the sofa at the end of the bed.

Lena’s eyes were nearly black as she took in Kara in front of her, and Kara’s stomach curled under Lena’s gaze. When she went to move forward, Lena stopped her, her hands moving to her own jeans. She undid them slowly and pushed them down, taking the fishnet stockings with them. Kara watched, her hands itching to touch the thighs right in front of her, feeling her breath coming faster the more skin that Lena bared to her. Lena tossed her jeans and stockings in the same direction as Kara’s jacket, and stood up before her, one hand on Kara’s shoulder.

Kara felt her mouth water at the sight right in front of her eyes. Lena was standing there wearing only her black corset and a pair of black lacy panties, her hair was already tousled from Kara’s fingers. Kara swallowed hard and raised shaking hands to Lena’s hips, pulling her forward so that she was stood between Kara’s legs.

“_Fuck_, Lena,” Kara groaned. “Do you know how incredible you are?” She slid her hands around to the back of Lena’s thighs, pulling slightly. Lena got the hint, and pushed Kara backwards so that she could climb onto the bed, straddling Kara’s hips.

Kara was certain that she’d never seen a better sight than this in her life. A disheveled Lena Luthor sitting in her lap, her hand on her chest, her skin flushed with desire and her eyes dark? Yeah, Kara was sure.

She reached up and pulled Lena down into a bruising kiss, keeping her hands in her hair, tangling it in her fingers as she felt Lena’s body press hard against hers, her hands on the bed behind Kara. There was no preamble at all; she felt Lena melt into her as Kara pushed her tongue into her mouth, and Lena sighed against her lips, bringing her hands up to the back of Kara’s neck and pulling her closer, their breath hitching as their kisses grew wetter, hotter.

Kara’s abs were the only reason they were still upright, and suddenly Lena’s hands were scrabbling at the button of Kara’s pants. They broke the kiss, and Kara leaned back, lifting her hips so that Lena could pull her pants down her legs and off her.

The brunette didn’t give her much time to move positions, immediately sitting back on top of her and raking her nails down Kara’s neck towards her chest, soothing the reddened skin with her tongue. Kara bent her head back, giving Lena more room, and was rewarded with a nip to the soft skin above her collarbone that made her gasp in pleasure. Her hands found Lena’s ass and she pulled her hard against her, their panties the only barrier between their skin. Lena bucked her hips against hers, and Kara was lost in one breathless moment.

_Fuck._ “Lena,” Kara whispered.

“Yes?” Lena replied, her lips brushing the front of Kara’s throat on her way back up.

“How do I take this corset off?”

She felt Lena smile against her mouth, and she bucked her hips again, causing Kara to groan loudly right into her mouth. Lena swallowed the sound and bit Kara’s bottom lip, pulling it back before releasing it as she sat back on her haunches a little, smiling down at Kara with her kiss-swollen lips.

“Like this,” she said, her voice hoarse and deep, reaching behind herself to pull at the ribbons and laces. Kara sat up too, reaching around Lena and finding her hands, helping to pull the constraints loose. It didn’t take long before the corset was loose enough for Lena to start unsnapping the pins. For a moment, Lena sat still on Kara’s lap, holding the corset to her chest, before she looked down and unsnapped the rest of it, pulling it off herself.

And just like that, Lena Luthor was straddling Kara’s hips wearing nothing but her lacy panties and an impossibly seductive smile. She held Kara’s eyes for a few seconds before she arched her back and pressed herself hard against Kara, her hands on Kara’s shoulders, baring herself to the blonde.

Moonlight dappled the pale skin in front of her, making Lena’s skin almost glow in the low light of the room, and Kara rested her forehead against Lena’s chest. Lena’s hands came up to rest in her hair, pulling a little so that Kara looked up into shining green eyes, before Lena pressed a kiss to Kara’s lips.

“You are so beautiful, Lena,” Kara whispered, bringing her hands up to brush Lena’s breasts for the first time. Lena sucked in a sharp breath and watched as Kara’s fingertips explored the softness in front of her. Lena’s breasts fit perfectly in Kara’s hands, and she ran her thumbs over nipples which hardened in the wake of her reverent touch. At the first touch of her tongue to one of Lena’s nipples, her hands tightened almost painfully in Kara’s hair, and she let out a low moan that had Kara wondering what else she could do to pull more noises out of the brunette.

At the same time as she bit down on one of Lena’s nipples, she raked her nails down the back of Lena’s thighs, before running her hands back up and under Lena’s panties, palming her behind. Lena arched into her again, her breath coming quickly, her fingers opening and closing in Kara’s hair. Kara bit down on the soft skin of Lena’s other breast, sucking on it to redness before soothing it with her tongue.

“Oh _god_, Kara-” Lena gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut, and her whole body started to shake.

Kara slowly ran her hands up Lena’s sides and around her back, reaching her neck before dragging her nails down Lena’s back and gripping her hips, twisting them both around. Lena landed on her back on the bed with Kara moving her knees either side of Lena’s hips, her dark hair spread out around her and a surprised look on her face at the sudden reversal. Kara kept her hands on Lena’s hips and leaned over to kiss her, pushing her tongue straight into Lena’s mouth. Her tight grip on the soft body beneath hers and her kiss were both possessive, and Lena let out a soft moan from the back of her throat, making Kara only kiss her harder.

Lena reached for her hands, and Kara rolled her hips against Lena’s, pinning her hands into the bed beneath hers, and pulling another gasp out of Lena. Letting go of Lena’s hands for a moment, she sat back and just _looked_ at her.

Lena’s face and the skin of her chest were flushed pink, and she was breathing heavily. The smile on her face was utterly radiant as she looked up at Kara with shining eyes, her dimples standing out in the candlelight. She was so far beyond beautiful that Kara didn’t have words for the adoration that spread through her body as she looked at her. Lena propped herself up on her elbows and watched as Kara trailed her right hand torturously slowly up from her belly button up between her breasts, across her collarbones, and dipped her fingers into the hollow of Lena’s throat. Gooseflesh appeared on Lena’s arms as a result of the gentle touch.

Kara smiled down at them, and then spotted something black on Lena’s ribs she hadn’t noticed before. She glanced back up at Lena, who raised an eyebrow and flopped back down to the bed and rolled over slightly so Kara could take a better look. There were words written into Lena’s skin, across her ribs. The words were on top of simple, small flowers of various shapes and sizes, all white and yellow, which curved upwards just to the side of her breast.

“Heal the scars and change the stars,” Kara read out loud in a low voice, tracing the letters and flowers with her fingertips.

“They’re lyrics,” Lena murmured in explanation, “and the flowers are orchids and plumerias. They make me hopeful.”

“It’s beautiful, Lena,” Kara said, bending down to kiss the skin under her hand. “Did it hurt?”

“Yes, but it wasn’t too bad,” she replied, looking down at it.

“Lena?”

“Hmm?”

Kara rested her forehead against Lena’s for a moment, before touching her tongue to Lena’s upper lip. Lena tried to chase her, and groaned when Kara thwarted her by pulling away. Lena reached for her with both hands and tried to kiss her, but Kara rocked back on her haunches. Lena huffed out a breath, leaning back on her elbows again and gave her a look that Kara was sure was straight out of the L-Corp boardroom.

She reached behind her back and undid her bra, tossing it over her shoulder and looking back down at Lena, whose eyes were raking over Kara’s whole torso. Before Lena had a chance to touch her, though, she took hold of Lena’s hands and pressed them to the mattress before hovering over her, just far enough away that Lena couldn’t reach her to kiss her. Her hips bucked up towards Kara in frustration, and Kara leaned down to give her a languid kiss, moving nothing but her mouth. Aside from their lips and hands, and Kara’s knees by Lena’s hips, nothing else was touching, and Kara could feel tremors running through her own body with the anticipation of touching Lena.

She let go of Lena’s hands, moving them down to the band of her underwear, the only barrier between her and being able to see and touch all that Lena was. Lena’s eyes followed her hands down.

“Lena, may I… may I remove these?”

“Yes,” Lena burst out desperately, her voice throaty. “Please, Kara, I need-”

“What do you need?” Kara asked, running her index fingertip along the edges of Lena’s panties, across the top of her thighs and then, lower. Lena spread her legs as much as she could between both of Kara’s, growling a little when she couldn’t get any relief.

“Kara please-”

“Please what?” Kara whispered, giving Lena a little more room to move and tracing her finger along Lena’s panties from her thigh to the lace between her legs. Lena’s body was shaking beneath her. She could see it, she could _feel_ it.

“Oh god, Kara, I need you to-”

Kara hooked her fingers in Lena’s panties, the rest of Lena’ sentence dying in her throat as Kara moved down the bed and pulled her panties down her legs with her. The panties were so wet, and Kara felt almost dizzy with desire and longing as the evidence of Lena’s arousal was in her hands and right in front of her. Finally, _finally_, after all this time, Lena was naked beneath her. Kara gently parted Lena’s legs with her hands on the inside of her thighs, and Lena inhaled sharply as the cooler air hit her overheated skin.

Pausing for a moment, Kara hurriedly pulled her own panties off and threw them over her shoulder, before she crawled back up Lena’s body, which was squirming slightly against the sheets as she watched Kara move with a hungry look on her face.

“Do you know how beautiful you are, Lena? How… god, how truly stunning you are like this?” Kara knelt up and ran her fingers slowly up the inside of Lena’s thighs towards the neat dark curls at the juncture of her legs. Kara felt her stomach jump when she saw the glistening wetness that she’d caused. Lena was _so_ wet for her. She spread her hands over Lena’s abdomen, moving them slowly to her ribcage, scratching her nails into the skin and feeling it twitch beneath her. “Fuck, Lena, I-”

When she was close enough to her, Lena reached out and pulled Kara down on top of her, kissing her fiercely, wrapping her legs around Kara’s waist, pulling them flush against each other for the first time. They gasped into each other’s mouths at the feeling of the full body contact, and Kara pressed Lena hard to the bed with her hips. Lena’s hands scrabbled down to Kara’s lower back, fingernails digging into her skin and pulling her tightly against her as she bucked up into her. Kara groaned into Lena’s mouth and she bit into Lena’s bottom lip.

Lena hissed in response, drawing her breath in quickly. “Kara please, I need you to touch me, _please_-”

Kara shifted her hips and Lena’s legs fell open either side of hers, and Kara trailed a finger around the top of Lena’s inner thigh. “I am touching you,” she said, teasingly.

“God, _Kara_, I need you to-”

Before Lena could say anything else, Kara swiped her finger through Lena’s slick folds, marveling at the way that Lena’s body went almost taut beneath her.

“Fuck, Kara,” Lena spluttered, arching her back and pressing her body up into Kara’s, her breathing labored.

Kara added a second finger and moved them through the wetness that surrounded them, marveling at the velvety feeling. Lena was mumbling nonsense words every time Kara’s fingers bumped against her clit, and Kara could tell that she was already close, her body coiled like a spring. Moving her fingers down, she pushed two fingers inside, filling Lena up and feeling her inner walls tighten around her fingers. Kara kept her hand still for a moment and kissed the corner of Lena’s mouth gently. “You feel so good, Lena,” she murmured against her mouth before giving her a soft kiss, slipping her tongue into her mouth as she curled her fingers inside her.

Lena sighed and moved her hands to Kara’s ass, pulling her down and increasing the pressure against her lower abdomen as Kara pulled her fingers almost all the way out, before pushing them back in as far as they could go, her thumb pressing on Lena’s clit at the same time. Lena’s shaking increased and her breathing became shallower as Kara added a third finger, panting into Kara’s mouth as Kara’s fingers filled her, her muscles contracting quickly around her fingers.

Lena was so close that Kara had barely to press her thumb against her clit once more before Lena fell over the edge, crying Kara’s name into the night, her body shuddering around her and her fingernails digging painfully into Kara’s ass as she rode out the waves of pleasure.

She teased every last moment of Lena’s orgasm out of her, but she wasn’t done. Before Lena had a chance to recover her breath, Kara had moved down the bed and swiped her tongue through Lena’s slick folds, tasting her for the first time and pressing her tongue flat against Lena’s clit, causing her to shout a wordless cry and one of her hands to shoot down into Kara’s hair, gripping it tightly, painfully, pulling Kara ever closer to her.

“Kara- _fuck_, oh god, oh fuck-” Lena chanted as Kara flicked her tongue over her clit. She pushed two of her fingers deep inside Lena and curled them until she found the spot that made Lena’s legs shake around her head. Lena’s breath was coming fast, and with every pass of Kara’s tongue against her, her panting increased. Her other hand seized the top sheet and twisted it underneath her. Kara reached for it with her spare hand, and Lena grabbed at it, locking their fingers together.

It was only a minute and Kara could feel Lena was close to the edge again, the pressure building under Kara’s ministrations, and when Kara wrapped her lips around Lena’s clit and sucked, Lena arched her back. She sucked a little harder and Lena’s back arched more, her fingers tightening both on Kara’s hand and in her hair. And finally, when she flicked her tongue over Lena’s clit and sucked, _hard_, Lena crashed over the edge, ripping a hoarse scream from her throat as she tumbled over the edge for the second time in the space of two minutes, her legs clamping around Kara’s ears as she drew the orgasm out as much as she could.

When Lena finally stilled, Kara pressed a kiss to the inside of each of Lena’s legs as they fell open with exhaustion, before gently pulling her fingers out, causing Lena to jerk a little as her sensitive muscles reacted to the movement. Kara moved up the bed, smiling when she saw that Lena’s eyes were closed tight, her chest heaving.

She pressed a gentle kiss to Lena’s lips. “Hi,” she murmured, smoothing her hand over Lena’s stomach. Lena curled into her immediately, wrapping her leg over Kara’s waist and her arms around Kara’s shoulders, and pushing her face into Kara’s neck. Kara chuckled as Lena curled around her like a koala bear, breathing into her skin and pressing kisses against her neck. Kara felt like her whole body was singing after making Lena scream _like that_, and she rolled over so that Lena was comfortably on top of her.

“Hi,” Lena mumbled into her skin, when she had recovered her voice.

“Hello,” Kara said, pushing the fingers of one hand into Lena’s hair and brushing through it gently. “I just have to say… watching you orgasm is now my new favorite thing.”

She felt Lena smile against her skin before she looked up and green eyes met blue. “Kara, that was… that was… um-”

“Lena Luthor, lost for words? I think I’ll take that as a compliment,” Kara said, giggling to herself and squeezing Lena tightly against her and loving how it felt to have her in her arms like this, to be able to touch her anywhere. In fact… she rolled slightly until Lena had her back on the mattress again, looking up at her with her hand on Kara’s bicep. She stroked Lena’s face, trailing her fingertips across her cheekbones and down her sharp jawline, made softer by the candlelight. She traced her eyebrows, her lips, and her hairline, before leaning down to kiss Lena softly, with all the reverence that she felt Lena deserved. She poured all the emotion she could into the kiss, and if the way Lena clutched at her face was any indication, she felt it.

Kara pulled the covers up over them both, the sweat drying on their skin and making Kara feel a little chilly. She tucked a sleepy Lena in before snuggling up to her, nuzzling her hair and kissing her once more before sleep claimed her.

* * * * *

Two hours after they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, they were awake again, and Kara was screaming with her third orgasm. Lena woke up from her post-coital nap with a huge amount of energy and only Kara to spend it on, and she wasted no time in exploring Kara’s body with her fingers and her tongue, finding all the places that made Kara gasp, which parts of her caused her breath to hitch, and which parts made her beg for more of Lena’s touch. She took every moment that Kara was silent as a personal challenge.

Lena took her time looking around Kara, pressing her tongue into every soft place, raking her nails down her abdomen to make Kara squirm, and mapping every freckle she could find on Kara’s fair skin. She approached Kara’s pleasure with the same single-minded intensity as she did anything else; with gentle care, consideration, experimentation, and a determination to never settle for anything less than excellence. Kara was not complaining.

Throughout the night, they slept periodically and woke up, taking turns to bring the other to new heights, and volumes. Neither of them could keep their hands off the other, but as often as it was intense, it was soft and slow. For every scream, there was a quiet sigh. For every desperate kiss, there was a sweet one. They touched each other’s faces with admiration and devotion, and their bodies with intent. For every time their fingers tangled in each other’s hair, there was a moment where their fingers were entwined beneath pillows.

Every bite was soothed with a kiss, and Kara had never felt as taken care of by a partner before as by the brunette curled up with her, against her, all around her. Kara smoothed dark hair from a flushed face and pressed a kiss to Lena’s forehead before drifting off to sleep once more.

* * * * *

When Kara woke up, it was to the quiet sounds of birds singing outside and the sun shining in through the open windows. Lena wasn’t in bed and the side of the bed she’d been sleeping in was cold, so she must have been up for a while. Kara could hear the sounds of crockery downstairs, and her stomach rumbled with hunger.

She stretched out, relishing the feeling of her sore muscles moving, and she buried her smug smile in her pillow as she slowly cataloged her body’s aches and pains. She was still naked, and she sat up, looking down and noticing several marks on her body where Lena had claimed her over and over again last night.

Kara crawled down the billion-thread count sheets in search of her cell in her pants pocket. She found it and pulled it out, noticing both that it still had a decent amount of battery left and that it was past 11am already. Shocked, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and decided that answering the myriad of text messages from Alex and Maggie could wait until she’d been to the bathroom at least. She padded across Lena’s bedroom, taking a soft robe off the back of the door and heading into the bathroom just down the corridor.

She cleaned her teeth with toothpaste on the end of her finger due to the lack of a toothbrush, and she borrowed a spare towel and jumped into the shower, knowing that Lena wouldn’t mind.

When she felt reasonably presentable, Kara followed her nose downstairs. Something in the air smelled sweet, as if Lena had spent her morning baking, and although Kara couldn’t identify what she’d made, it smelled _good_, and she wanted it.

Lena was in the kitchen with the back door open to the garden, cool air blowing in a breeze through the kitchen. She was at the kitchen table, a robe loosely tied over her body and her hair in a loose bun, with a book open and a mug of hot chocolate in front of her, her feet up on the table legs. At Kara’s entrance though, she put her book down on the table and turned in her seat, giving Kara a soft smile that was so full of affection that Kara abandoned her thought of investigating the baking and crossed the kitchen, leaning down and lifting Lena’s face to hers with both of her hands to kiss her.

Lena’s eyes were shining as she stood up to step into Kara’s arms for a hug. “Good morning, darling,” she said, her arms around Kara’s waist, squeezing gently. “How did you sleep?”

“Well, _someone_ tired me out,” Kara replied, her voice colored with amusement even as she pressed closer to Lena.

Lena raised her eyebrow. “I suppose then, you’re too tired to eat right now? I can-”

“No,” Kara said emphatically, making Lena laugh. “I need fuel or else I’ll spend the whole day either in your bed or your armchairs whining about how hungry I am.”

Lena rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “I’m not opposed to you spending the day in my bed, but I don’t think I can deal with whining for an entire day. Head outside, I’ve made breakfast and put it out in the garden. Do you want a hot chocolate?”

“I would love one, thank you,” she replied, heading out of the door and into the back garden, a part of Lena’s home that she hadn’t seen before. It was quite long, with the same tall varieties of trees giving them complete privacy from the neighbours. A small winding stone path led the visitor around trees and flowerbeds towards a small white building halfway down. When Kara peeked in, she saw it was full of books, and she could just imagine Lena curling up on the soft-looking sofa in there in all weathers, getting lost in a story on her lap. There was a greenhouse right at the bottom of the garden housing all sorts of plants. Kara didn’t know what they all were, but there were quite a few cacti lined up on the shelves, all looking healthy and spiky.

She looked around to find out where Lena had put the breakfast she’d mentioned, and spotted it back up near the house; she’d missed it on her way out, too eager to explore the garden. She headed back up to the deck and stopped in her tracks. The only thing that was set out on the table were donuts of all types on plates. And Kara could tell, she just _knew_, that they were the amazing ones that Lena brought for her sometimes.

And then she remembered what Lena had said. She’d _made_-

“Lena!” she squealed loudly, startling the brunette in question who was just stepping out into the decking, almost spilling the hot chocolates she was carrying. Kara moved over to take them from her before setting them down carefully on the table.

“Lena, I need you to explain something to me,” Kara said, pinching the bridge of her nose in mock annoyance, while Lena waited patiently for her to explain herself, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth and her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes held a spark of intrigue. “All the donuts that you’ve sent or brought to me over the last year, these sugary pillows of deliciousness, the ones you would never tell me which bakery you got them from? These donuts?”

She pointed at the donuts in question on the table, all piled up looking irresistible. “You just told me that you made breakfast. Are you telling me that _you_ made these?!”

The smile Lena tried to keep off her face spread across it, her dimples deep and her eyes crinkling as dumbstruck realization crossed Kara’s face, and soon, she was laughing.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! I’ve been asking for _months_, Lena. Months!”

“I still haven’t confirmed nor denied this, you know,” Lena said coyly, taking a step backwards and raising her hands in surrender when Kara advanced on her, the smile never leaving her face.

“Lena Kieran Luthor. Did you, or did you not, make these donuts, plus all the other ones, and the ones posted on Instagram?” Kara demanded, trying to look as menacing as possible in her fluffy robe and bare feet.

“I… might have,” the brunette replied, her voice low and suggestive.

“_Lena!_”

“Alright, alright,” Lena laughed, reaching for Kara and kissing her cheek. “I made them. I made all of them, and tortured you by not telling you that I’m a master donut baker. Happy?”

Kara grinned wickedly and wrapped her arms around Lena, dipping her slightly before kissing her in a way that left Lena breathless and unfocused when she was done. She pressed her nose against Lena’s and kissed her once more, briefly, before letting her go and sitting down at the table with the donuts, smiling to herself when Lena made her way unsteadily over to the table.

“You really might be the perfect woman for me, you know,” Kara said off-handedly as Lena pulled a chair out and sat down, her attention on the donuts, trying to decide which one she should try. She couldn’t tell what any of them were, since they all seemed like they were filled.

Eventually, she picked one at random and bit into it. It was strawberry and cream, with the cream thick and cold. Kara moaned obscenely, and Lena’s cheeks flushed at the sound of it.

After a few moments of Kara enjoying herself, Lena cleared her throat. “The perfect woman for you?” she asked, the vague hint of insecurity in her voice making Kara look immediately up at her in question. She swallowed her bite of donut and wiped her fingers together to brush off the sugar.

“Lena?”

The only sounds Kara could hear were the birds flying overhead, and the occasional car in the distance. The morning sun warmed them, but the cool air was still. Lena was quiet, and she waited her out, sensing that what Lena wanted to say was important to her.

“Kara, I wanted to… last night was wonderful,” she said, her eyes snapping up from her twisting fingers to Kara’s. Kara reached under the table and took one of Lena’s hands, pulling it towards her. One thing she had learned about Lena was that while she was confident about her achievements and her intelligence, she was less sure about her emotions, sometimes needing reassurance that what she was feeling was the right thing. Kara chalked that up to her growing up with Lillian Luthor and thus growing up thinking that assigning any importance to her own feelings was a waste of time. The truth was, Kara thought, that Lena Luthor had a lot of self-confidence and an honest sense of her abilities, but next to no self-esteem. She could command a board room, a conference, perform medical miracles, and she was not afraid to make hard decisions, but when it came to her private life, Lena was more unsure. The difference between self-confidence and self-esteem were very distinct in Kara’s mind.

Lena looked over at their entwined hands. “I wanted to say that I’m not seeing anyone else,” she said, her voice low as she spoke. “I don’t want to. And I’d like us to be…” her voice trailed off, looking at Kara, her face hopeful and earnest.

Kara decided to rescue her. “Lena, are you saying you want us to be exclusive?” she asked with a smile.

Lena sighed in relief. “Yes, that is, if you want to be?”

Kara scooted her chair over to Lena’s, the scraping loud in the still morning air. “I want you to listen to me closely, Luthor,” Kara said, leaning forward conspiratorially. “How could you think that I’d even look at anyone else, when I’ve got you to look at? When you’re the one who’s looking at me?” Lena gave her a shy smile. “The first time I saw you, I don’t know if you remember, but I was… kind of struck dumb.”

Lena snorted inelegantly. “I remember.”

“Well, I had spent the days before googling you and I was really intimidated by your giant brain and your accomplishments. And all your security at L-Corp was like… well, it was really scary. And then I completely tanked the interview, but you were so nice about it. And then you wanted to do a second one, and then we got to know each other. And behind the corporate face I got to know a woman who was so kind, who cared about her employees, and wanted to make a difference. And then I got to know you even better, and I know you like cinnamon in your hot chocolate, and that you’re a pool shark, and love cotton candy. I know you never give less than 100 per cent. You’re clearly an amazing baker, and you love to read all sorts of things and you love plants, and you have a rebellious streak. I haven’t been able to get you off my mind since the moment I met you. I don’t want to see anyone else, Lena. I only want you.”

Kara kept her eyes on Lena the whole time she was speaking, and she saw that Lena’s eyes were glittering with unshed tears. “You feel so much, Lena. And I want to be there for the amazing ride you’re going to take the world on, holding your hand the whole time.” A tear spilled over Lena’s eyelashes and down her cheek, and Kara wiped it away for her. She pulled Lena to her feet and wrapped her arms around her. “You’re stuck with me, you know.”

“I am not _stuck_ with you, Kara Danvers,” Lena scolded her gently. “You’re a ray of bright sunshine in my life. You’re… like the sun, and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the moment you walked into my office, I opened up to you more than I have done with anyone else. I don’t know what it was about you… but it was as if I couldn’t help myself. I’m never like that with anyone. My friend Sam was shocked. Apparently, I brought you up in so many conversations that she thought we were dating back in May. And maybe I was hoping… even back then, that you thought of me the same way I was thinking of you. You’re so kind to me, and you’ve never judged me because of my family. You’ve stood up for me in ways nobody ever has. And you make me feel… like I’m worth something outside of my name. And you’ve no idea what that means to me,” Lena finished, her voice strong and sincere.

Kara gazed at her, touched. This wonderful woman who could do anything, go anywhere, and have anything, had inexplicably chosen her, long before she’d known it. Lena had opened all the doors of her life, held out her hand, and welcomed Kara right into her heart.

Kara cast an almost forlorn glance at the donuts and their half-drunk hot chocolate, but raised shimmering blue eyes to meet green. Lena was watching her with a smile and seemed to understand Kara’s silent message; she picked up the plates, taking them inside and putting them in the fridge for later. Lena took her hand and led her back to her bedroom, pushing the robe slowly off Kara’s shoulders until it pooled around her feet, before whispering in her ear, “let me show you what you mean to me, Kara Danvers.”

* * * * *

A few weeks later, they were all assembled at Kara’s apartment for Thanksgiving. They were originally meant to all be heading out to Eliza’s for Thanksgiving, but although Lena had given L-Corp staff the day off, as well as the next day, she herself had deadlines and had to stay in National City, so they decided that they should have it at Kara’s, so that she could be included.

Lena had confided to her that she hadn’t had a proper Thanksgiving in years, not since Lex had done what he’d done. She and her mother didn’t get on well enough to spend any amount of time with each other, and the thought of having Thanksgiving in the cold and drafty Luthor Manor wasn’t appealing in the slightest. Kara had invited Lena along to their own without a second thought. Winn would also be there. James was going to be spending it with Lucy’s family, a prospect that he had not been looking forward to, since her father was apparently the scariest man on the planet.

When Lena arrived, Maggie poured her a cold pint of Guinness and pressed it into her hand. Kara looked at the glass – it was a Guinness glass.

“Where did you get that?”

“I stole it from the Guinness factory in Dublin when I was there a few years ago,” Maggie said nonchalantly, and Kara smacked her on her upper arm. “Ouch! I remembered Lena saying she liked it there, so I brought it along for her.”

Lena smiled and took a deep drink of her Guinness, leaving her with a foam mustache that Kara reached up to wipe off before she could do so herself. Kara licked her finger clean and then made a face at the taste of it. “Ugh, Lena, how can you drink that?”

“I’m half-Irish,” she said in response, taking another sip. “It’s in my blood. In fact, I think it’s the law.”

“Half Irish?” Alex asked, coming over to join the conversation while Maggie and Winn laid the table and set the TV up for the football game that would be on later that evening. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Lena confirmed. “My birth mother was Irish. I was adopted into the Luthor family when I was four and I spent more than half of my childhood in a boarding school in Ireland.”

“It’s funny, really,” Alex said, taking a sip of her own beer. “Kara met a mysterious Irish woman at the LunarSolar Foundation gala right at the end of the last year and obsessed about her for ages. And now you come along and you’re half-Irish.”

Lena choked on her Guinness, spluttering, and Kara whacked her on the back in concern. “Are you alright?”

“Uhhh, yes,” Lena wheezed, clutching Kara’s hand as she fought to catch her breath, clearing her throat several times. “At a- at a gala, you said?”

“Yup. Apparently it was the most amazing kiss she’d ever had- er, up until you, anyway,” Alex said quickly. “She hasn’t mentioned this other woman in months, now I think about it. Not since she got to know _you_, Lena.”

Kara rubbed the back of her neck with her spare hand, even as she squeezed Lena’s, hoping this conversation wasn’t making her uncomfortable, considering they were now a couple. “Yeah, I um, kind of left her hanging as well. We thought Alex here was going to die or throw up all over Maggie’s shoes, so this girl went off to find some water and I took Alex to the cab. But then I never got to go back inside, so I guess she thinks I just abandoned her. I did kind of make a promise to her to meet her at this year’s masked gala actually,” Kara said, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment as Lena’s eyes shot up to meet hers, her expression unreadable.

Alex was right; she truly _hadn’t_ thought about the brunette woman from the gala in months, her mind fully preoccupied by Lena, and Alex was bringing the woman up now, in front of her?!

Lena was rubbing a hand against her chest, the last of her coughing almost over. “I think you should meet her again this year,” she said, her voice carefully level.

“I- _what?_ Why? Lena-”

“Because you kind of stood her up, darling. If the kiss was that good, you probably made her sad that you didn’t come back, and you shouldn’t break a promise if you’ve made one, Kara,” Lena said. She paused for a second, before continuing. “I’ll get you tickets, because I’m going to be there anyway. In fact, I think you should wear the exact same mask, so that she knows it’s you.”

Silence followed this unexpected statement while everyone stared at Lena. All of a sudden, Alex’s eyes widened comically and she also choked on her beer. Kara was suddenly very glad that she was drinking vodka, if all beer did was make you choke on it.

“Kara, go and help Maggie set up. I’ll take care of Alex,” Lena said, waving her off to the living room area and taking Alex’s beer off her, replacing it with a glass of water she poured from the tap.

“Are you sure?” she asked, eyeing Alex.

“Yeah,” coughed Alex, glancing briefly at Kara before her wild eyes went back to Lena. “I’ll b-be fine.”

Still feeling concerned, Kara wandered over to help Maggie and Winn with the table, carrying over the crystal glasses that they only used on Thanksgiving. She set them all out, looking back into the kitchen to see Alex and Lena having a hushed conversation. Alex was gesticulated wildly in her direction and Lena folded her arms and smiled widely, nodding.

“Holy _shit_, Luthor-” Kara overheard Alex say, before Lena hurriedly shushed her. Kara shrugged before starting up a conversation with Winn about the latest video game he’d been playing.

When Eliza arrived, Lena was introduced to her as her girlfriend. Eliza already knew, of course, and Kara could tell that Lena was nervous, but soon enough Eliza mentioned the NanoMax and that was it. Lena and Eliza talked to each other about complicated bioscience for about an hour while Eliza took over the cooking, and everyone else just left them to it. For herself, Kara loved that Lena and her mom got on so well and so quickly. They each had brilliant minds and a mutual respect for each other’s work.

Once everyone was full to bursting and feeling sleepy from the vast array of food Kara and Alex had spent all day making, they went around the table taking turns to say what they were thankful for that year. When it came to Lena’s turn, she cleared her throat.

“I’ve got so much to be thankful for this year, which is really quite something for me to be able to say. I’m thankful that I’ve found people who don’t treat me like I’m about to do something terrible because my last name is Luthor. I’ve got friends, I’ve got a real family now in all of you. I hope it’s okay to say that. I’ve got things to look forward to outside of work. I’ve got photos stuck to my fridge now. I’m thankful for the _life_ that I’ve been given and the people who are now in it,” Lena said, her voice a little shaky. “And mostly of course, I’m thankful for Kara for being my sunshine. Without her, I’d… um, I’d probably be eating a cold salad alone in my office right now, I’m not going to lie about that! So… thank you, all of you, for including me. Your kindness means a great deal to me.”

Kara, tears in her eyes, leaned over and kissed Lena right in front of everyone.

“You two are gross,” Alex grumbled, but she was smiling, as were they all.

“Well, I’m thankful for these donuts,” Maggie said, biting into one she’d brought over from the kitchen. “They’re seriously amazing. Where do they come from anyway? Lena, did you bring them? Where did you get them?”

Kara burst out laughing. “You’ll never know, Sawyer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 
> 
> By the way, I have absolutely loved all the comments wondering about the donuts throughout the previous chapters! :D


	13. December

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually bought myself some doughnuts to eat while I posted this final chapter. I've been craving them this whole time :D

“I swear to… whoever is listening, that if I have to hear _All I Want for Christmas_ one single time more before the end of the day I will throw this bottle of scotch through the nearest window,” Alex said, gritting her teeth and brandishing the bottle dangerously.

“Please don’t throw that bottle through my windows,” Lena protested from where she was sitting curled up against Kara on the sofa, under a blanket. “I can replace the windows, but that’s a very expensive bottle of whisky and I think I’d miss it.”

“Stop being such a grinch Alex,” Kara laughed, scooting down the sofa and pulling Lena closer against her. “I mean, it suits you, but you’re really sucking the fun out of the whole Christmas experience.”

“You two weirdos have already done all of your shopping and don’t have to go out into the stores with everyone playing the same damn playlists,” Alex grumbled.

“Should’ve done it earlier,” sang Kara, squealing and ducking behind Lena, who in turn ducked behind Ralph the giant bear when Alex mimed throwing the whisky at her instead of the window.

These days, Ralph spent his time sitting in the living room of Lena’s apartment, a daily reminder for Lena of their first date, and something for her to lie back on while she relaxed. Kara had laughed when Lena had admitted that he was more comfortable than most of her expensive cushions and that she often fell asleep on him.

It was Christmas Eve, and Kara and Lena had spent every weekend at Lena’s house, Kara packing a bag and inevitably leaving stuff at Lena’s place so that she didn’t have to keep carting things back and forth. They spent their days in sweats and hoodies, Lena often baking new batches of donuts with different ingredients for Kara to try out. They had a large score chart stuck to the fridge with the different flavors and variations that Lena had invented. It had taken a few hours of coaxing Lena away from work the first Saturday, but now it seemed that nothing made Lena much happier than baking on a Saturday afternoon. Kara counted it as a win that Lena hadn’t brought any work home for the past two weekends, her laptop abandoned and remaining in its case, leaning against the desk.

Once, they’d played board games on the rug in front of the fire, the flames chasing away the chill of the air in the old house. Lena didn’t like stuffy air, so left half of the windows open regardless of how cold it was outside. It took Kara a little while to get used to it, but she found she slept better. Also, it made cuddling up with her beautiful brunette in bed much cozier.

Their enthusiasm for each other was as strong as ever, and the mornings where they woke up aching and covered in marks they’d left on their skin were more common than not. They made love to each other late into the night, usually passing out only to wake up and begin touching each other all over again. The truth was that Kara was almost never happier than when she was making Lena come utterly undone beneath her. Kara found that the usually put-together businesswoman was disturbingly easy to fluster. On the days when Kara came to L-Corp to travel home with Lena for weekends or random evenings, she would tease Lena while she was trying to work until the brunette was crossing her legs beneath her desk. They were both glad that Lena’s town car had a divider between them and the driver; they often arrived at Lena’s apartment or home with their hair and clothes disheveled and trying to make themselves presentable before the driver opened the door.

Lena’s driver had often caught them clutching at each other’s clothes and laughing helplessly, and Lena had decided that he was getting a very large Christmas bonus for having had to deal with them for the last two months.

Jess was also getting a Christmas bonus; she had been invaluable to Lena this year. The fact that she and Chip had finally got together was something both Kara and Lena were thrilled about. The size difference between the two was comical, and Jess still blushed whenever Kara brought him up with her; her desk was always covered in fresh flowers whenever Kara visited L-Corp.

A week ago, Kara insisted that Lena needed a Christmas tree in her house. Lena asked her driver to take them out to a Christmas tree lot and help them drag a large tree to the car, and then into her house. There had been a shower of pine needles all over Lena’s floorboards, and Kara immediately went back out to buy a festive rug for it to sit on, as well as a boatload of decorations and tinsel. Lena admitted that although she always decorated the LuthorCorp tree in Metropolis, and now the one in L-Corp in National City, she’d never kept a tree in her own house. They’d decorated the tree together, perhaps overdoing it a little with the tinsel, but by the end of it, they were both smiling and Kara couldn’t wait to stack some gifts underneath it.

Now, on Christmas Eve, Kara’s gifts were under Lena’s tree, along with a pile from Lena to her. They were still ensconced on the sofa under the blanket in Lena’s apartment, and Alex had stopped threatening to throw the whisky at the window and headed out to get the rest of her shopping done. Nothing like leaving it to the last minute; Kara didn’t envy her in the slightest.

Lena was leaning back against Kara, eating a candy cane that Kara had handed to her before wrapping her arms around the brunette’s waist. Lena didn’t usually eat them, and Kara counted this as a win for her; Lena had winced at the thought of eating pure sugar, but Kara pouted at her until Lena gave in, and now she appeared to be thoroughly enjoying it despite herself.

“Hey,” Kara whispered to Lena, squeezing her gently and burying her face in dark hair.

“Mmm?”

“Do you want to go for an evening walk and look at the Christmas lights in the park?”

Lena twisted in her lap and smiled up at her. “Sure!”

An hour later, they were wandering around downtown National City, bundled up in their coats, hats, and scarves, clutching cups of hot chocolate. Lena had foregone her usual darker colors and was wearing a soft beige knit dress with red and green snowflakes and reindeer on it under a bright red pea coat. She wore an equally bright red bobble hat on her head over her loose and wavy hair, and she looked so impossibly cute that when they stopped to sit down on a park bench, Kara leaned over to press a gentle kiss to her lips.

“You look distinctly… un-Luthor like right now,” Kara whispered.

Lena chuckled. “Is there a particular look that I should be subscribing to as National City’s resident Luthor?”

“Hmm,” Kara replied, making an exaggerated thinking face, “you could do without the bobble hat and maybe a add a little bit more frowning. You’re smiling way too much; you don’t look at all frightening _or_ evil.”

Lena burst out laughing, the dimples deep in her cheeks and her eyes crinkling. She kissed Kara again before wrapping her arm around Kara’s waist and leaning her head on her shoulder.

“There you go again, looking all adorable instead of intimidating. People will fall in love with you rather than fear you, if you’re not careful,” Kara joked, her hand over Lena’s in her lap, running her gloved thumb over Lena’s. And then, suddenly, she stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Lena asked, when she felt Kara shift under her.

“Oh, I… it’s, uh…” Kara started, before falling silent again.

“Kara?” Lena prompted, putting her hot chocolate on the bench next to her hand resting her hand on Kara’s wrist.

Golly, _when_ had this happened? It had crept up on her so slowly that she hadn’t even realized it. Was it when they’d first kissed? When Lena had come home from France and they’d had that really affectionate hug that Kara had daydreamed about for weeks afterwards? When she’d first seen Lena all soft and cozy that day she had the migraine? Kara cast her mind around frantically. The first time they’d made love? When she’d seen Lena walking across the dancefloor in her gothic ensemble… or later when she’d been straddling her in nothing but her corset and her panties, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders and a seductive smile on her face?

Kara swallowed, clenching her hand around Lena’s and not risking a glance towards her, because she knew Lena was looking at her and she, god, she-

“I love you,” she blurted out, looking quickly at Lena and then back across the park, watching as couples and families walked around, pointing at the lights in the trees and on the statues. She pushed her glasses further up her nose and huffed out a nervous breath, watching the clouds of her breath float away in the cold air.

She felt a gloved hand on her face, gently encouraging her to turn her head. Lena’s face was open and so, so beautiful. Her eyes were shining, and Kara felt her heart jump at Lena’s earnest expression.

“Lena, I- well, I…” she stuttered. “I wanted to-”

Lena pressed a heartfelt kiss to Kara’s lips, cutting Kara off, her tongue swiping across Kara’s bottom lip. Kara allowed her entrance, and Lena kissed her, tenderly cradling her face in her hands. Her kiss was slow and sweet, Kara thought, the kind that was shared between people who, well, people who-

“I love you too,” Lena whispered against Kara’s lips before kissing her again, stroking Kara’s cheekbones with her thumbs. Kara sighed into her mouth at the admission, and wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist, pulling her as close as she could through all the soft layers they were wearing.

“You do?” Kara murmured.

“Of course I do,” Lena replied, pressing kisses to the corner of Kara’s mouth, her cheekbones, her forehead, before moving back to her lips. “_Of course_ I love you. How could I not? Kara Danvers, you make my heart sing.”

They stayed huddled on the bench together until it got too cold for them to sit still much longer. They made their way back to Lena’s house, and spent the evening curled up with each other under Lena’s cloud-like duvet, slowly making love to each other, their newly declared feelings evident in the gentle ways they touched the other, the ways they whispered the other’s name when they were brought to their peaks, the careful way they tucked each other in when they were done.

Whenever Kara thought she was happy, something happened to make her even happier. She slotted herself along Lena’s back, tucking her knees behind Lena’s, and tightened her arms around her. She sighed into Lena’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to the pale skin.

“I love you,” she said, just to say it aloud to Lena once more. _Because she could._

“I love you too, darling,” Lena replied, her voice sleepy and soft. “Always.”

* * * * *

Christmas morning was spent sat on the floor of Lena’s living room in their pajamas opening the gifts they’d bought each other. Lena’s presents for Kara consisted of art supplies and several books on Renaissance art that Kara had always wanted but could never bring herself to spend the money on, and a promise to take her to Italy in the spring to go and walk around the multiple art galleries in Florence. She’d also baked her two dozen different kinds of donuts, and bought her a leather satchel and several new notebooks for her journalism.

Lena then shyly took her upstairs to show her that she’d filled her bathroom with extra supplies for Kara, hung up a new robe for her on her bedroom door, and bought several of Kara’s favorite books to put on her side of the bed, as well as clearing out half of her closet so that Kara could keep some of her clothes there if she wanted to.

Lena wrung her hands together slightly as she explained why she’d done it. “I want this house to feel like your home too, my love, if you’d like it to be. I know this is fast, but I… what I mean to say is that you can come here any time, whether I’m here or not, and not feel like it’s a home for just me. It’s kind of selfish of me but I think sometimes, when I’ve had to be at L-Corp late for some reason, I’d like to… come home to find you here. I’d really like it if I could come home to you more often.” She pulled a key from her pajama pocket and pressed it into Kara’s hand. Kara looked down at it, and then back up at Lena, before she reached forward and pulled Lena towards her bed.

They spent an hour and a half in Lena’s bedroom, Kara showing her just how much she loved the idea of Lena coming home to her, before they headed back downstairs for Lena to open her own gifts. Kara had at first struggled to think of something that she could get Lena that she couldn’t get herself, like she had several times before, but in the end she had painted her another picture – it was the photo that Lena had taken of herself where her hair was a mess in Montségur, France. She’d also painted several other pictures, including one of Sam, Ruby and Lena that Lena snapped a photo of and sent to Sam. In addition, she’d bought Lena a new laptop case as she’d been complaining hers was getting ratty and hadn’t got a replacement yet, and some new gardening supplies for the spring. Lena loved everything, and immediately set about looking for somewhere in her house to hang the new paintings.

They spent the rest of the day visiting Alex and Maggie, and Eliza who had come to stay with them for the holiday. They exchanged their gifts and watched several Christmas movies, wearing silly jumpers that Maggie had bought for a joke and insisted that they all wear. Lena’s came down almost to her knees, and when she sat down, she was actually able to pull her knees up underneath it quite comfortably.

Later, Lena confided to Kara that it was the best Christmas she could remember spending.

* * * * *

In the week before the LunarSolar Foundation New Year’s gala, Kara grew worried that Lena was more bothered than she was saying about the fact that Kara was going to meet the mysterious brunette from the year before, even though it was due to Lena’s own encouragement. For a start, she wouldn’t tell Kara what she was going to be wearing (“it’ll be more fun if you can actually find me while I’m wearing a cunning disguise, darling”). She wanted to know all the details Kara could remember about her, despite Kara thinking it was weird Lena wanted to know so much about this one particular encounter of Kara’s and not any of her other past actual girlfriends (“I’m just curious about the woman who made such an impression on you!”). And every time Kara mentioned that she wanted to hang out with Lena at the gala since, you know, they were dating and in love with each other, Lena told her that she’d be busy with L-Corp donation business until just before the countdown, and no amount of Kara pouting could change Lena’s mind.

Kara didn’t have any reason to doubt Lena, so she took her at her word. She was a take it at someone’s word kind of girl, after all. But it did seem curious, and she tried not to worry about it too much.

What made it even weirder was that Alex was also actively encouraging her to meet up with GreenLeaves again, even if it was just so that she could tell her that she had found love elsewhere and to apologize for leaving her in the lurch.

“Alex,” Kara burst out the third time this conversation happened, while Alex was over for one of their sister nights. “It was totally _your_ fault that I left her in the lurch in the first place!”

“Yeah, but surely that part doesn’t matter now,” she said, waving Kara’s comment aside, “and you’re with Lena now, so-”

“I’m with Lena now, yeah, and I’m extremely happy, so why are you encouraging me to meet GreenLeaves again?” Kara huffed, exasperated beyond belief, aggressively digging her spoon into her tub of Ben and Jerry’s.

“Because you should apologize to her. It’s the right thing to do,” Alex insisted.

Kara sighed, carefully cradling the ice cream tub against her stomach and flopping backwards dramatically onto her sofa next to Alex. “You two are both being really weird about this.”

“Lena’s being weird?”

“Yup. She’s saying the same kind of things that you are, and I don’t know what that means,” Kara said, looking up at Alex upside down.

“Maybe it means she thinks you were an asshole for leaving the girl in the lurch,” Alex said, smirking at her.

“But it was _your fault!_”

“Sure, but GreenLeaves doesn’t know that!”

Yep, Kara thought. Neither Lena nor Alex were being very helpful about it. When she thought about it honestly, she felt like she was being slightly unfaithful to Lena, even though she knew that the only thing she’d actually be doing would be apologizing for her lack of grace the year before, and telling her that she was no longer single.

Maybe she was worrying about all of this for nothing, though. The likelihood of the brunette showing up was 50/50 even if she had said she went every year, and who’s to say she wouldn’t be bringing her own date to the gala this year herself? Maybe neither of them were single now. Maybe GreenLeaves wouldn’t even show up and she was doing all this worrying for nothing, because it wasn’t like they’d sworn a blood oath to meet each other again or anything, right?

She shouldn’t be feeling guilty, and she knew it, really. But she still felt bad.

The solitary good thing though was that because both of them were telling her that she had to wear the exact same outfit and wear the same makeup, she didn’t have to flap about trying to find something to wear or wonder what kind of design she should paint onto her face; past Kara had decided that for her, and that was somewhat of a relief.

True to her word, Lena had got Kara, Alex, and Maggie tickets to the gala, and although she would be busy for most of the evening, she said that she would meet them once all the fuss had died down. Kara kind of wanted to find her before the countdown though, so that she could be sure to kiss her and start her new year off in the best kind of way. She very much hoped Lena would be done with her business before that happened.

This year, Alex and Maggie had fought like children over which one of them got to wear a suit. Privately, Kara thought that both of them should wear one if that’s what they wanted to do, but each of them thought that only one of them should. Kara rolled her eyes so much that she nearly gave herself a headache. In the end, she’d flipped a coin and Alex had won the right to the suit fair and square, and everything had calmed down.

“Alex?” she asked, her voice quiet.

“Yeah?”

Kara glanced down at her hands, the Ben and Jerry’s tub cold against her skin. “You really don’t think that Lena will mind?”

“I really don’t. She knows you love her, and she loves you. You’re both disgustingly obvious about it every chance you get,” Alex said, ruffling Kara’s hair affectionately, before her voice turned serious. “You know I’m really happy for you, right?”

Kara captured Alex’s hand with hers and squeezed it in gratitude. “I know.”

* * * * *

The night before the gala, Kara was in bed with Lena, her head in the brunette’s lap. Lena was reading a book with one hand and twirling Kara’s hair between her fingers with her free hand, and Kara felt like she was in heaven. She was trying to play a puzzle game on her cell phone but she was far too distracted by how good it felt to have Lena playing with her hair, and she gave up, resting her cell on her chest.

She groaned contentedly when Lena’s other hand joined in and gave her a scalp massage, making Lena chuckle above her.

“That feels so good,” she mumbled, and in response, Lena increased the pressure of her fingertips. Kara felt the goosepimples all the way down to her toes, and she shivered in pleasure, rolling over so that she could curl up against Lena’s legs. Lena continued her precise and wonderful massage for a few more minutes until Kara was almost completely boneless underneath her ministrations. Kara was sure she was almost asleep, but curiously awake at the same time.

Lena put her book and her reading glasses on her nightstand and scooted down the bed, wrapping Kara in her arms and pressing their foreheads together.

“Hi,” she whispered, kissing the tip of Kara’s nose.

“Hello,” she replied, pulling one of Lena’s legs over hers and shuffling closer to her, tucking her in with the blankets.

“Have I told you yet today that I love you?” Lena murmured.

Kara gazed into soft green eyes for a moment before she closed the distance between them and kissed the brunette, relishing how soft her lips were against hers and how they seemed to fit _so perfectly_ with hers. Lena parted her lips, just enough to make Kara sigh, and when she felt Lena’s tongue touch hers, she tightened her arms around her, her heart thudding in her chest.

She pushed one hand into Lena’s dark hair, their kiss slow, and Kara felt heavy with love and want. Lying here, kissing Lena, all wrapped up in a quiet bed, in a quiet house, on a cold winter’s night, Kara felt like they were in their own little world. Here in the semi-darkness, they were each other’s.

“I love you too, you know,” Kara said against Lena’s lips, “so much. This time last year, I’d barely even moved to National City and it didn’t feel like home at all. But now… now, my life is so different. I’ve found you. I love my job. I love being closer to Alex, and did I mention you?”

Lena smiled, kissing the corner of Kara’s mouth. “You did,” she replied, her voice tender.

“Well, I… well hey, it’s thanks to you that I love my job as well,” Kara laughed.

“I can’t take all the credit for that. That first interview was a disaster but you somehow turned it into good PR for me too. You’re a great writer, Kara. So, I guess we both need to thank each other.”

Kara settled her head against the pillow and cupped Lena’s face in her hand. “And…”

“And?”

Kara let the silence stretch out. “I get donuts out of it.”

Lena snorted before she could stop herself. “I hope I’m good for more than just donuts, although, feeding you sugar does seem to make you pretty happy.”

“You make me happy in so many ways, Lena Luthor.”

“Yeah?” Lena asked, her eyes shining with love. For her, Kara thought with wonder. Lena’s eyes shone with love _for her_. Out of all the people in all the world, how did she get so lucky as to fall in love with the same wonderful woman who loved her?

“Yeah. In fact…” Kara pasted a wicked smile on her face and flipped them suddenly, making Lena squeal in surprise as she landed on her back with Kara pressing between her legs, “let me show you how much.”

* * * * *

Once Snapper Carr realized that nobody was paying any attention to work after a certain point in the afternoon, he let them all go home with gruff happy new years wishes for them all, and Kara joined the stampede out of the office. She waved at her colleagues as she stepped out onto the freezing street and made her way home. She didn’t live too far away from CatCo, and thought that the brisk walk would wake her up after the stuffy warmth of the office.

Alex and Maggie were coming over to Kara’s apartment in a few hours to get ready to go to the gala, and Kara wanted to be ready for them. On her way home, she picked up a few bottles of wine and beer and some snacks, as well as an extra bottle of makeup remover because she was pretty sure gluing glittery sunflowers onto her face was going to be a lot harder this year when it actually seemed to matter that she got it right, as opposed to last year when she was already quite tipsy before she’d grabbed the glitter. She really didn’t want go as a Pikachu with hair for a second year running – what was she going to go as next year, a Jigglypuff?

She pursed her lips to keep from laughing when the thought of dressing up as one of those ghost Pokemon and how horrified Lena would no doubt be when she showed up looking like some kind of ghoul. Or as an Oddish. That is, if she would even be going next year, if she didn’t embarrass herself to all hell with the mystery brunette later.

It turned out that the LunarSolar Foundation’s galas always had painted masks as their gimmick, which Kara found both interesting, because as Alex said last year, you couldn’t just pull away the mask and show someone who you were, but also annoying, because now she had to have glitter stuck to her face for hours again instead of some nice, easy face paint. She cursed her past self for this ridiculous tipsy idea.

By the time she’d washed, dried, and styled her hair, leaving it hanging in carefully twisted loose waves around her shoulders, Alex and Maggie had arrived and started on the booze.

Alex’s tux was black with deep red trimmings to match her hair, and a rainbow pocket square giving her a bright pop of color. Maggie’s dress was black with a high neck and no shoulders or sleeves, showing off her well-toned arms, which Alex seemed to appreciate a great deal.

Kara would be staying over at Lena’s after the gala; she was looking forward to welcoming the new year with the brunette, who had promised to bake her a whole batch of her favorite donuts in the morning once they woke up. Lena had decided to give L-Corp staff the rest of the week off, paid, and she had also promised to leave all her work at the office. Kara had likewise booked the rest of the week off in advance. They were going to get to spend five whole days together and Kara felt like she was walking on air just thinking of it.

In the morning, Lena was going to drive them to the airport. Kara wasn’t sure where they were going to be heading off to, but Lena had made her pack swimwear and light clothing. It was a last-minute surprise, whispered to her in the middle of the night the night before, and Kara had… rewarded Lena liberally. Her muscles were still sore this evening.

She was startled out of her thoughts by Maggie sneezing loudly when Alex accidentally stuck part of the face paint brush up her nose, and they all laughed uproariously.

“Kara, here,” Maggie said, rubbing her nose and passing over the glue brush.

“I suppose it’s now or never,” Kara replied, eyeing it like it was going to turn into a spider in her hands. “Alex… are you sure that I-”

“If you’re going to ask me one more time whether you should meet your mystery woman I am going to glue a glitter penis to your forehead,” Alex replied, holding up a pot of pink glitter menacingly and shaking it.

Maggie snorted beer up her nose and Kara moved to hit her on the back. “What is it with all of you and choking on beer in the last few weeks?” Kara asked.

“Cou- couldn’t possibly s-say,” Maggie choked out, giving Alex a meaningful look.

“_What?_ Do you all know something I don’t? Is it fashionable to drink beer through your nose now and nobody told me?” Kara asked indignantly.

Alex laughed, tossing Kara the pots of glitter. “Nothing I’m sure you won’t eventually figure out for yourself, little sister,” she said. “Do you need some help getting those sunflowers on?”

“No,” Kara said flatly. “I’d rather you didn’t stick the brush up my nose as well.”

Maggie and Alex both laughed, and Kara sighed, applying the glue to her face carefully before adding almost the entire pots of yellow and black glitter to her face. They seemed even bigger than they were the year before, which meant that she’d be even itchier than she had been last year. Eventually, they were there on her face, and no amount of contorting her face into strange shapes stopped her cheeks feeling very strange indeed.

The invitation said that they were to arrive around 10pm, which is when all the speeches would be. None of them seriously wanted to be there for that, so they decided to show up a little later, at 11pm. Lena would be busy with whatever she was going to be doing for L-Corp for the Foundation anyway, so they were all just going to have a few drinks and a dance while they waited for the countdown to midnight.

Kara glanced at the clock on the wall. It was 10:30pm, and she felt her stomach explode into butterflies. As much as Lena and Alex had told her not to be, she still felt pretty nervous about tonight. It meant nothing, of course, but still. She just wanted to find Lena and kiss her at midnight. That was all she wanted.

They piled into their booked cab and were soon on their way. As they made their way up the steps, she wished that Lena were there, so that they would be able to dance together slowly in a corner somewhere. She vaguely remembered Alex mentioning the Luthor family the last time they were here, and she was glad that her opinion about Lena at least had done a complete one-eighty since then. She laughed to herself as she walked through the doors that were held open for them to enter – this time last year, she hadn’t even known who the Luthors were. She had never _heard_ of Lena, never heard of Lex or of Lillian. Golly, how strange that seemed now.

The decorations for the gala this year were just as lavish as last year. Huge silk banners hung from the ceiling in various pastel shades in such a way as to make the whole place feel like they were in a huge tent of some kind. It made the whole place feel warm and inviting. The band were playing jazz music in the corner, and there were people schmoozing and dancing across the floor.

Kara nodded in the direction of the bar, and they all made their way over to it, Kara surreptitiously on the lookout for both Lena and for the brunette and feeling her body buzz with nerves. She was disappointed that she wasn’t able to spot either of them. When they reached the bar, the bartender recommended her a drink called a strawberry basil sorbet bellini. She didn’t have a clue what it was, but gave it a go anyway and gave it a solid 9 out of 10 as she sipped it.

Her eyes were drawn to the buffet table, and leaving Alex and Maggie at the bar for a moment, she wandered across the dance floor to it. When she reached it, she was shocked to discover that this year, there were potstickers, mountains of them. She also spotted Lena’s donuts – she wondered how long Lena had to bake for in order to make quite that many of them. Kara suspected that poor old Jess had been roped into it somehow.

As if she’d been summoned, Jess appeared at her side, looking beautiful in a tailored long-sleeved dress. “Hello, Miss Danvers,” she said, startling Kara.

“Hi Jess!” Kara blurted out. “Hey. How are you?”

“I’m well thank you. Lena was kind enough to get Chip and I tickets to come this year.”

Kara clapped her hands together with glee. “I’m so glad it’s going well between you two,” she said sincerely.

Jess blushed, as usual. “Thank you, Miss Danvers.”

Chip appeared over Jess’ shoulder, towering over her despite the heels Jess had on. “Hello, Miss Danvers,” Chip echoed, holding his arm out for Jess to take.

“You can call me Kara,” she reminded them both gently. Jess smiled in acquiescence. “Er, have you seen Lena anywhere? I was hoping to bump into her.”

“She’s with the board members making L-Corp’s donation to this year’s fundraiser,” Jess replied, picking up one of Lena’s donuts with her spare hand. “It’s for National City’s LGBT+ youth charities. I guess she’ll be done in a little while.”

“That’s a really great cause,” Kara commented. “I’m sure it’ll do a lot of people a whole lot of good. Um, sorry, Jess, do you happen to know the time?”

Jess pulled her cell out of her purse and checked. “It’s half past eleven.”

“Great, thank you. Listen, I’ll see you when Lena’s back in the office? I’m just going to go and find my sister and her girlfriend. Have a great night, okay?”

Popping one last potsticker in her mouth, she headed over to Alex and Maggie who were dancing in the middle of the dancefloor. Maggie held her hand out for Kara, and she joined in with them, swaying her hips and enjoying herself when the DJ, who had replaced the jazz band not long ago, kicked the tempo up a notch, playing some well-known cheesy dance tracks. At one point, Kara spotted Chip and Jess on the dancefloor; Kara could see that they were looking at each other like they’d won the lottery, and Kara smiled to herself. She’d tell Lena about them later.

The time seemed to pass both fast and slow, and eventually Kara noticed that people were starting to check their watches if they were wearing them. All of a sudden, all the air seemed to leave her lungs as her nerves returned with a vengeance. She cast a glance around the room, spotting the quieter corner of the room where she’d met the brunette last year.

Alex noticed where she was looking, and put her hand on Kara’s upper arm. “It’ll be alright Kara, you’ll see.”

“I’ll see what?” she said, confused, but Alex was looking at someone else across the room and nodding, before she looked back down at her.

“Just… it’ll be fine, okay? Just go and talk to her. I’m sure she won’t stand you up.”

“_Alex!_”

Alex gave her a little push in the direction of the corner and swallowing her nerves, she straightened her back and her shoulders, and made her way to the corner to wait, wishing that she had something to do with her hands. Alex had her cell in one of her pockets, so it wasn’t even as if she could text Lena to see if she could come and rescue her at the last minute.

She’d been standing there, alone, for a few minutes wondering whether she’d been stood up herself when she DJ announced that the countdown to midnight would begin in two minutes time. She tried to look confident, but she shifted from foot to foot, her body betraying her as she kept an eye on the dancefloor to see whether anyone was coming her way.

“Hello stranger,” a low, Irish voice suddenly said from behind her. Kara froze. That was… she turned around slowly. There she was. She was wearing the same dress, the same towering heels. Her hair wasn’t straight this year, but tumbled in soft waves over her shoulders. The same shower of leaves on her face. Those same gorgeous green eyes gazed at her. But Kara _knew_ this face now. She knew it intimately. She knew how it felt under her fingers, she knew the sharp jawline, she knew the curve of her eyebrows, she knew how soft those lips were to kiss. She _knew_ them!

And once she knew, she was absolutely astounded that she didn’t realize it the first time she’d met her in her office. She had no idea how she hadn’t realized the first time they’d kissed, or the first time she’d held Lena against her. How had she not connected them? They were the same person-

“Lena?!” she blurted out, her mouth dropping open.

The brunette’s smile was utterly radiant; Kara didn’t think she’d ever seen Lena smile so widely. Her whole body was vibrating with happiness, pleased with her surprise. Lena reached for her immediately, hands carefully cupping her face without disturbing the sunflowers, and pulled her down to kiss Kara soundly on the lips. She could feel Lena smiling against her lips; Lena almost couldn’t contain herself long enough to kiss her, and Kara wrapped her arms around her.

“Lena? It was _you_ last year? Are you kidding me right now?” Kara asked, grinning, but still bewildered.

“It _was_ me!” Lena exclaimed happily. “My love, I can’t believe you kissed me like that and left me here all alone afterwards. I was _so_ disappointed when you didn’t come back and find me again,” Lena scolded her gently, her eyes crinkled with amusement. “I wanted to dance with you. And talk, and maybe… well, after that kiss, maybe…” her voice trailed away, but the meaning in her words was clear, and Kara groaned.

“It was all Alex’s fault,” Kara nearly wailed. “If I’d known it was you, I would definitely have asked you to dinner the first time I was in your office!”

“That would certainly have given Jess something to think about,” Lena laughed, passing her fingers over Kara’s collarbones and then softly tracing her fingers around Kara’s sunflowers. “Coming in for an interview with the infamous Lena Luthor, and leaving with a date.”

“We could’ve… we could’ve been together earlier.”

Lena tutted. “Ah, but darling… in the end, don’t you think it worked out much better this way?”

Kara pouted, but she knew Lena was right and nodded. They’d come together so organically, so gradually and naturally, that Kara knew she wouldn’t change it even if she could. “When did you figure it out- hey, Alex knew about this, didn’t she?!” Kara realized, mock-betrayal on her face. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me.”

Lena nodded, more of her dark hair spilling over her shoulders. “I figured it out at Thanksgiving. Remember when we both kind of… choked on our drinks?”

“Oh god,” Kara said, resting her forehead against Lena’s and letting out a breathy laugh. “I’ve been completely oblivious. I don’t know how I didn’t connect you both, er, you to yourself. You’re so beautiful, Lena. I have no idea how I didn’t know, how I didn’t see it.”

Lena pointed at the leaves on her face. “Turns out, these are quite an effective disguise, along with my Irish accent,” she said with a smile.

Kara laughed, reaching up to gently touch them, moving her fingertips along Lena’s jawline, across her eyebrows, and down her cheeks. And then, she stepped right into Lena’s space, draping her arms over Lena’s shoulders.

Lena pressed herself against Kara and wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist, and Kara felt Lena’s whole body shaking with joy.

Aside from anything else, she was so relieved that they were one and the same person. There was something kind of wonderful, magical even, about having met Lena without knowing it was her. About having kissed the way they did, and then falling in love with each other afterwards. She carefully cradled Lena’s exquisite face in her hands and she swallowed any words that she was about to say as she marveled at the way that Lena’s expression was so open. Lena’s brilliant eyes hid nothing; she was glowing with happiness.

_“Ten! Nine! Eight!”_ the DJ announced from somewhere in the room.

Lena looked over Kara’s shoulder towards the DJ, and then back at Kara, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“So… are you alone?”

“Definitely not,” Kara replied, smiling.

“Single?” Lena asked, a wry smile on her face.

“Absolutely _not_.”

_“Five! Four!”_

“Would you like to -”

Kara couldn’t wait any longer. She carefully dipped Lena Kieran Luthor, the woman she loved, and kissed her just as fireworks burst across the city. She poured all the love she had into the kiss, letting Lena know exactly whose heart she held in her hands.

All around them were cheers as everyone celebrated the coming of a new year. Kara knew, just knew, that with Lena, this one was going to be the best year yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Lena and Kara come full circle at last :) <3
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading along with me while I've been posting this story <3 <3 I have loved reading all your comments, especially whenever someone guessed that Lena was the mysterious donut baker!
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed sharing it with you all :) it's been an absolute pleasure!
> 
> I'm Melui-the-Ravenclaw on Tumblr - come find me if you'd like to say hi! :)


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